Pashinian reportedly promoted his policy towards Azerbaijan during the three-hour meeting with Yerevan State University (YSU) students and professors held behind the closed doors. He answered questions from some of them.
Hovannes Shamrikian, a third-year political science student, said he asked the premier about Azerbaijan’s recapture of Karabakh. In particular, he wondered whether Pashinian would, in hindsight, still carry out his “velvet revolution” in 2018 if he moved back in time and knew that it would lead to the loss of the Armenian-populated region. The answer to the question was a definitive yes, Shamrikian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
He said he was even more shocked by another statement made by Pashinian. “With regard to Artsakh, he made a point that when we lost Artsakh we finally gained independence for the Republic of Armenia,” said the student.
The statement attributed to Pashinian is consistent with what he publicly said last week during an official ceremony to mark the 107th anniversary of an independent Armenian republic. He declared in a speech that Armenia has become “more sovereign and more independent than ever” during his seven-year rule.
Armenian opposition leaders scoffed at the claim, insisting that Pashinian has on the contrary dramatically weakened the country and left it facing existential threats from Azerbaijan as well as Turkey. They pointed to Azerbaijan’s victory in the 2020 war and Pashinian’s continuing concessions to Baku which they say can only spell more trouble for Armenia.
The six-week war left at least 3,800 Armenian soldiers dead. Pashinian has blamed its outcome on Armenia’s former leaders.
