Armenian analyst accuses Pashinyan of ‘election blackmail’

During budget debates on October 27, Pashinyan said Armenians “should stand by peace” in the upcoming vote or risk sliding “back into conflict”.

In a social media post on Thursday, Surenyants dismissed the statement as “pure political manipulation”, arguing that peace cannot be presented as an electoral choice while Armenia remains without a peace treaty with Azerbaijan, under blockade and with prisoners of war being held in Baku.

“In these conditions, talking about peace as a done deal is self-deception,” he wrote. “Politically, it’s election blackmail: ‘If you don’t vote for us, we’ll return to war.’”

He also warned that relying on former U.S. President Donald Trump as a “witness” to peace efforts was “risky and naive”, noting Washington’s closer ties with Baku and its focus on the Middle East.

Surenyants stated that “true peace belongs to the people, not to one man or one party”, adding that it is built on “rule of law and truly independent foreign policy, not fear”..