Nagorno-Karabakh Exists, So Does the Lachin Corridor: Pashinyan to Aliyev

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has responded to a series of false claims made by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev during a panel discussion held at the Munich Security Conference.

According to Armenpress, during a discussion on security in the South Caucasus, which featured Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, and OSCE Secretary General Helga Schmid, Pashinyan emphasized in response to Aliyev's statement that "there is no such concept as Nagorno-Karabakh and no such administrative unit exists in Azerbaijan" that "Nagorno-Karabakh does exist, and the Lachin Corridor exists as well, which must remain open according to the trilateral statement of November 9, 2020, signed also by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev."

"The signature of the Azerbaijani president is on that document. It also states that the Lachin Corridor must remain open and outside of Azerbaijan's control. You know, recently several Armenian children attempted to cross through the Lachin Corridor by bus, but they were stopped, and masked Azerbaijani individuals boarded the bus. The children were frightened, and that was the last attempt by Armenians to pass through the Lachin Corridor," Pashinyan stated.

Pashinyan deemed Aliyev's assertion that Armenians have destroyed mosques unfounded. "In 2017, many mosques were destroyed in Azerbaijan to build other structures in their place. During the Soviet years, more than 1,500 mosques were destroyed in Azerbaijan, and the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh should not pay for the debts of the Soviet era. This is a very dangerous narrative because I fear that Azerbaijan wants to introduce a religious subtext to the entire situation. There is no religious subtext in the conflict. We have a Muslim minority in Armenia and functional mosques. That is the reality," he emphasized.

The Prime Minister noted that the Azerbaijani president used offensive rhetoric in his speech, particularly highlighting the term "capitulation." "It seems that Azerbaijan has adopted a policy of revenge, and perhaps that is Azerbaijan's political strategy. It was mentioned that our history is very complex, and this is a historic meeting, but what purpose are we using it for—hate, aggressive rhetoric, or do we want to use this platform to improve the situation? We believe that this platform should be used for constructive purposes. I am proud that our Government held free and competitive elections even after a disastrous war. The solution is democracy, transparency, dialogue, and respect for all countries in our region," Pashinyan concluded.