Pashinian blames opposition, diaspora for Azerbaijan’s “Western Azerbaijan” demands

(Horizon Media / YEREVAN) — Nikol Pashinian on Thursday blamed Armenian opposition forces and diaspora advocacy groups for Azerbaijan’s renewed campaign demanding the “return” of Azerbaijanis who lived in Soviet Armenia, effectively shifting responsibility away from Baku and onto Armenians advocating for the rights of displaced Artsakh Armenians.

Speaking to reporters, Pashinian claimed that Azerbaijani officials continue to refer to large parts of Armenia as “Western Azerbaijan” because Armenian political and diaspora circles continue to raise the issue of the more than 100,000 Armenians forcibly displaced from Artsakh after Azerbaijan’s September 2023 military assault.

His remarks came days after Azerbaijan organized a “festival conference” near the Armenian border devoted to the so called “return to Western Azerbaijan.” Azerbaijani Education Minister Emin Amrulayev described the issue as being of “strategic importance” for Baku, while the head of the government linked “Community of Western Azerbaijan” said it must be placed on the agenda of Armenian Azerbaijani negotiations. Another Azerbaijani group reportedly held a related conference on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Despite the direct challenge to Armenia’s sovereignty, Pashinian’s government has issued no formal response. Instead, Pashinian turned his criticism toward Armenian organizations, including diaspora advocacy groups working to defend the rights of Artsakh Armenians.

“There is silence about the fact that just ten or a little more days ago, Armenian organizations in the United States raised an issue that essentially concerns the continuation of the Karabakh movement,” Pashinian said.

He appeared to be referring to the Armenian National Committee of America, which recently announced that several pro Armenian members of Congress had introduced amendments calling on Azerbaijan to allow the safe return of Artsakh Armenians, release Armenian prisoners and withdraw from Armenian territory occupied during Azerbaijani incursions in 2021 and 2022.

“Any attempt to continue the Karabakh movement at other levels will bring mirror reactions,” Pashinian said, directly targeting diaspora lobbying efforts in the United States and elsewhere.

The statement marked yet another instance in which Pashinian appeared more willing to criticize Armenian political and diaspora actors than to confront Azerbaijan’s escalating demands. Rather than rejecting Baku’s “Western Azerbaijan” narrative, which has no historical or legal basis, he suggested that Armenian advocacy for Artsakh’s displaced population is what triggers Azerbaijani aggression.

Pashinian has repeatedly argued that forcibly displaced Artsakh Armenians should abandon hopes of return and “settle down” in Armenia. Opposition leaders and Armenian organizations reject that position, insisting that the right of return remains a legitimate international issue.

Azerbaijan’s latest demands expose the failure of Pashinian’s policy of concessions. Far from moderating Baku, his approach has encouraged Azerbaijan to escalate from the destruction and depopulation of Artsakh to open claims against the Republic of Armenia itself.