Opposition Protesters Call for Pashinyan’s Resignation

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Wednesday sought to assure citizens that he had not signed any document with Azerbaijan after comments he made in parliament earlier in the day suggesting he was prepared to sign a “peace treaty” with Baku sparked outrage and prompted an opposition rally in front of the legislature.

“I officially state that no document have been signed. Furthermore, no document is going to be signed. There is no discussion about signing a document,” Pashinyan said in a Facebook Live post on Wednesday, adding that he was informed about the dissemination of information that claimed he had signed a document.

He said that such rumors were be disseminated “for the sole purpose of weakening the resilience of our soldiers standing at the border.”

Pashinyan ordered Armenia’s Armed Forces to stand at the borders and defend the territorial integrity and defense positions of the country and “not to give in to manipulations.”

Earlier on Wednesday Pashinyan addressed parliament and later answered lawmakers’ questions. The statement that sparked confusion and outrage was his insistence that he was willing to make a “difficult” decision to sign a “peace treaty,” even if it meant that people would ask for his ouster from office.

“I have taken the responsibility upon myself to make hard decisions for the sake of peace. But those hard decisions do not mean decisions opposing Armenia’s state interests. We must take certain decisions to guarantee Armenia’s security, lasting stability and peace. We cannot write a “peace treaty” under the headlines today, sign it, and face a new war in 6 years. We want to sign a document as a result of which a lot of people will criticize us, a lot of people will demean us, a lot of people will call us ‘traitors,’ people even may decide to remove us from power. We will be satisfied and grateful if as a result of this the Republic of Armenia, with its 29,800 square kilometer territory, is granted lasting peace and security. Any decision that will ensure this [peace]—I say this very clearly—I will sign. I am not interested in what will happen to me, I am interested in what will happen to Armenia,” Pashinyan told lawmakers Wednesday.

Presumably, Pashinyan’s statement also prompted Artsakh President Arayik Harutyunyan to assert that the international recognition of Artsakh and its people’s right to self-determination cannot be subject to negotiations.

“Artsakh cannot and must not be a part of Azerbaijan, because, first of all, the people of Artsakh decide their own fate in their own homeland, and secondly, we will not subject our people to genocide and deprivation of homeland,” Harutyunyan said in a statement.

“We have repeatedly stated and now also reiterate that all the documents that could recognize Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan are unacceptable for us. On the other hand, we all need to understand that in this difficult situation the path for our fight is long and full of challenges, but I am sure that we will eventually achieve our goals with national efforts,” added President Harutyunyan.

In his Facebook Live post, Pashinyan recalled that Azerbaijan has proposed points for a peace treaty, and while the Armenian side has said that there is nothing unacceptable in that points, “it has also amended that agenda which includes the rights, security guarantees of the people of Nagorno Karabakh and other conditions deriving from it which guarantee the security and the exercise of rights of Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh.”

“We have stated that we will not give a corridor through Armenia’s territory to anyone. We will not sign a document that will question Armenia’s territorial integrity in any way. It is ruled out”, he said, once again assuring that he has not signed any document.

“I have not signed any paper. Nothing like this has been envisioned. There is no draft paper on my table today which should be signed or should not be signed. Nothing like this is planned for the coming days as well. At this moment there is no text or a paper for me to sign or not to sign. I was told that today soldiers are calling from the border, asking whether it’s true that a document has been signed, so it means we are not guarding our borders anymore?” Pashinyan said.

“Our homeland, Armenia, is more than sacred and it is not a subject for bargaining. I have said this today in the Parliament. Be that with a corridor or something else. We are not going to make our sovereignty, territorial integrity a subject for bargaining. We are not going to do that. On the other hand. we will not shy away from responsibility if we see that there is a solution, even not of a dream, which does not cross the red lines of Armenia’s interests, we are ready to take responsibility for it as well and go to that solutions,” added Pashinyan.

Moments after Pashinyan’s initial statement in parliament crowds gathered at the National Assembly building. As of 3:30 a.m. local time, crowds are still gathered at the parliament demanding Pashinyan’s resignation.