MP warns Pashinyan’s statement may aid Azerbaijan in court

Elinar Vardanyan, an MP from the Hayastan faction, has criticized Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s recent remarks in Germany as dangerous. During a press meeting in Hamburg, Pashinyan suggested creating a joint roadmap with Azerbaijan to “close the topics of Karabakh Armenians and Western Azerbaijanis.”

Speaking to Panorama.am , Vardanyan argued that this proposal could legitimize Azerbaijan’s “Western Azerbaijan” narrative and create serious legal and political precedents.

She stressed that the government had previously denied the existence of the “Western Azerbaijan” topic, yet Pashinyan now openly acknowledges it, implying that demands regarding the return of Azerbaijanis who left Armenia decades ago are real.

“It is unacceptable to draw parallels between the deportation of Karabakh Armenians and the return of so-called 300,000 Western Azerbaijanis. This comparison defies moral norms, let alone legal or political logic,” Vardanyan said.

She added that this move seems like an attempt to remove Artsakh and its displaced population from Armenia’s national agenda altogether. “Pashinyan is once again trying to shut down the issue of Artsakh and its people. But he has no authority to decide whether the return of Artsakh Armenians should remain a topic,” she said.

Vardanyan emphasized that if the Armenian government were truly committed to parity, it would first raise the issue of Armenians forcibly displaced from Azerbaijan, many of whom are now citizens of Armenia.

“Instead, Pashinyan is trying to erase Artsakh and the right of return for its people. This is extremely dangerous, as it gives Azerbaijan grounds to cite Pashinyan’s statements in international forums,” she warned.

Earlier in Hamburg, Pashinyan proposed jointly drafting a roadmap with Azerbaijan to address both the “Western Azerbaijanis” and “Karabakh Armenians” issues. He argued that the topic of return is highly sensitive and dangerous, referring to EU-Armenia documents that mention Armenians displaced by Azerbaijan’s military actions.