Zourabyan: The Actions of Pashinyan Regarding the Karabakh Problem Lack a Mandate from the People

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has adopted a stance, at some point, recognizing that Karabakh is part of Azerbaijan, which significantly contradicts his electoral program and more. This was stated by the Deputy Chairman of the Armenian National Congress (ANC), Levon Zourabyan, in an interview with Sputnik Armenia, recalling that prior to the June 2021 elections, Pashinyan, along with the ruling Civil Contract party, affirmed that Armenia would support the realization of the rights of self-determination for the Artsakh Republic and based its political stance on the principle of "separation for salvation."

“What Pashinyan is currently doing regarding the resolution of the Karabakh issue lacks a mandate from the people. But he is doing it by trying to reference the Alma-Ata Declaration for only one reason, to obscure the fact that he is the first Armenian leader to recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan,” Zourabyan said.

According to him, the Alma-Ata Declaration has no connection with such recognition. It was a general document that Armenia signed and ratified with 10 reservations. Some of these reservations stipulate that the declaration does not apply to Nagorno-Karabakh, as the former USSR autonomous regions that affirmed their independence through a referendum may join the declaration.

In other words, the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan does not extend over the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region. “Moreover, in 1992, the Supreme Council of Armenia adopted a resolution stating that no authority in Armenia could sign any document that recognizes Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan. Therefore, if Pashinyan formally changes this course, two previously mentioned legal obstacles arise,” the ANC official noted.

“When it comes to our fate, it is obvious that Pashinyan has come to the conviction or has been led to this conviction that by withdrawing from Karabakh, he will at least ensure the security and guarantees of sovereignty over the territory of Armenia. However, this is a miscalculation,” he added.

Zourabyan asserted that guarantees can only realistically be achieved through a balance of power, raising the question of what military mechanism can neutralize the Azerbaijani-Turkish threat if this tandem decides to make further territorial conquests. “Currently, only Russia plays a restraining role against the Azerbaijani-Turkish machinery, which certainly should be supplemented by Armenia’s military potential, although this role is quite modest. If Russian presence ceases in the future, the West is not prepared to engage its military machinery directly against the Azerbaijani-Turkish alliance,” the ANC deputy chairman confirmed.

Responding to the question of why Armenia is so eager to engage with Western platforms, preferring the Western format for conflict resolution, Zourabyan emphasized that Azerbaijan is playing a much more complex diplomatic game, attempting to adopt a balanced approach towards the West and Russia to obtain favorable solutions for itself. Meanwhile, Armenia rejects the work of deriving certain dividends from Russian initiatives and has directed all its diplomatic energy towards the West.

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