Arayik Harutyunyan's Remarkable Statements: What He Was Told by Pashinyan

The newspaper ‘Hraparak’ reports: During an extended meeting of the Security Council on April 22, the President of Artsakh, Arayik Harutyunyan, made some quite remarkable statements. He stated that Pashinyan does not intend to hand over Artsakh. Indeed, there is no alternative to a peace treaty with Azerbaijan, but ‘Nikola will do everything to keep Artsakh.’

The opposition responded with confusion, arguing that if the peace treaty is signed and mutual territorial integrity is recognized, it would mean conceding Artsakh to Azerbaijan. Harutyunyan relayed Pashinyan's assurances that there will be a special clause in the treaty stating that the question of Artsakh is irrelevant to Armenian-Azerbaijani relations.

Furthermore, the President of Artsakh rephrased what Pashinyan said regarding Russian President Putin's remarks during their meeting in Moscow, where he indicated that the question is still hot, and needs to be left to cool down before a decision is made, while promising to ensure the safety of the Armenians in Artsakh in the meantime.

The opposition countered by asking how many years Russia is expected to keep holding the situation, as long as the status question is unresolved, and they are opposed to signing such a treaty. Some mocked, saying that if the situation is allowed to ‘cool’ for another 50 years, there will no longer be any Armenians left in Artsakh to fight for its status.

The opposition left the Security Council meeting angrily, believing they are once again being deceived to implement an anti-Armenian agenda. Incidentally, the meeting of the Security Council was held on the same day as the last meeting of the Armenian government, just hours apart. In that meeting, it is worth recalling, Pashinyan, forgetting all his previous statements, declared that if he were to hand over anything, he would have handed over Artsakh during the 44-day war, stating, ‘Artsakh is not ours to hand over.’

For more details, see today’s edition of the newspaper.