The Commander Who Liberated Shushi on Nikol Pashinyan’s Statement About Shushi

Nikol Pashinyan, during a question-and-answer session with the government at the National Assembly, responded to Naira Zohrabyan, stating that there has never been a variant in the ongoing negotiation process where Azerbaijani refugees would not return to Shushi. He continued with the remark that "Shushi is a colorless and lifeless city": "Prior to the conflict and liberation, Shushi had a population of over 90 percent Azerbaijani. Do you want to say that Shushi, with over 90 percent Azerbaijani population, is Armenian in its status?"

In an interview with 'Hraparak', the Commander who liberated Shushi, Arkadi Ter-Tadevosyan, stated, "That’s my pain; it’s like pouring salt on my wound—I don’t want to talk about it. Now, Azerbaijan wants to create some kind of training city; I don’t know what they are trying to build, but that was our Armenian, ancestral city. Tiflis, Baku, and Shushi have always been Armenian cities where Armenians have lived... I don’t understand what they are talking about, but every time I hear about Shushi, I feel a bit unwell."

When asked if he feels worse hearing words from Aliyev or Pashinyan regarding Shushi, the Commander replied, "In my opinion, if a person hears from an Armenian that Shushi is not an Armenian city, it’s a bad thing. And I can say, I always hear bad things from Armenians."