How Can These People Work With Us If We Are Traitors? Pashinyan on Artsakh Residents

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated during his concluding speech on the draft budget for 2026 in the National Assembly that an impression is being created that there is a problem between us and the people of Artsakh, or that we harbor some distrust towards our compatriots in Artsakh.

“I don’t want to say this, because it might not sound good, but excuse me, half of the leadership of our armed forces is from Artsakh. Our armed forces are led by people from Artsakh. So if we do not trust or love the people of Artsakh, how did we appoint these individuals to those positions?” he said.

“We are being told that we have betrayed, that we have done this or that. I have not heard anywhere that people of Artsakh descent have claimed to be involved in any treacherous deals. So how can these people work with us if we are traitors? Who is going to answer this question?” the Prime Minister declared, emphasizing that the upper echelon of the military hierarchy consists mainly of individuals from Artsakh.