When Turks say ‘the Armenian remains an Armenian’

By Anahit Voskanyan

Panorama

Addressing the parliament recently, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan indignantly remarked: “We say ‘the Turk remains a Turk,’ but over there, they say ‘the Armenian remains an Armenian.’”

When Armenians say “the Turk remains a Turk,” history stands as witness – centuries of massacres, deportations, denial of the Armenian people’s rights and brutality by Turks.

So why was Pashinyan agitated? What do Turks see when they say “the Armenian remains an Armenian”?

Turks see an ancient nation, whose homeland they have invaded and occupied for centuries. They see a people who persist in their desire to live, not merely to survive, but to live with dignity, something they deem injustice.

If Pashinyan believes that the Armenian people’s right to live freely in his own homeland must yield to Turkish or Azerbaijani wishes and his endless eagerness to please them, to rush at Erdogan’s call, to intrude upon Aliyev’s conversations with other leaders, constantly entertain his Turkish and Azeri “yoldash” friends and give them whatever they want will somehow dissuade them from their long-held plans to wipe Armenians out of the region, he is gravely mistaken.

Aliyev has mocked Armenians since 2021, laughing at the people who re-elected a treacherous and incompetent leader after his humiliating war defeat. In August 2025, Aliyev went further, declaring that “Armenian society is sick”, perhaps referring to its tolerance for Pashinyan’s continued rule.

Once, the Armenian heroes restrained the enemy’s insatiable appetite for conquest. Today, through Pashinyan’s image – and through those who still tolerate him – even Azerbaijanis look upon us with disdain. Do you truly believe they will ever spare us?

Against this backdrop, Pashinyan’s so-called “cleverness” after giving the “Zangezur Corridor” to Aliyev and promising to name it after Trump is nothing more than a mockery of human dignity.

So when Aliyev declined Armenia’s invitation to attend the European Political Community summit in Yerevan in spring 2026, it came as no surprise. Aliyev is no fool; he will not step foot in a country he still calls “the enemy” and will always do so.