Yerevan Won’t Defend Artsakh Armenians’ Rights Because They Don’t Live There, Mirzoyan Says
Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan angrily declared on Wednesday that Yerevan will not advance the cause of forcibly displaced Artsakh Armenians on the international stage because there are no longer Armenians living in Artsakh.
Speaking to lawmakers in parliament, Mirzoyan also blasted Artsakh leaders saying their rhetoric was destabilizing and expressing frustration with accusations by the Artsakh leaders that Armenia’s authorities essentially “sold out” Artsakh.
“What do they want from us now?” Mirzoyan said, referring to the Artsakh leadership. “Are they mocking us? This question must finally be answered seriously. How long can they keep saying through their newspapers that ‘Karabakh was sold out, Karabakh was sold out?’”
He repeated an earlier statement made by the foreign ministry that because Artsakh President Samvel Shahramanyan signed a decree—under duress—declaring the Artsakh Republic null and void, immediately following the September, 2023 attack on Artsakh, Yerevan’s hands were tied.
“The fact is that after the forced deportation and especially the proclamation of that well-known document on their self-dissolution, that agenda cannot continue for the simple reason that there are no Armenians living there [Artsakh] whose rights we can talk about,” Mirzoyan said.
“I repeat, the government, led by Prime Minister Pashinyan, has done everything to address the issue of the rights and security of these people in some way,” Mirzoyan said, calling warrantless the accusations that Yerevan had removed the matter from the agenda of the peace talks.
Artsakh activists staged rallies in front of various government buildings, including the foreign ministry, this week protesting what they called government-sanctioned hate speech toward Artsakh Armenians who were forcibly displaced from their homeland.
