Opposition MP claims Pashinyan of blackmail

Opposition Hayastan faction MP Artur Khachatryan claims Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s appeasement policy will not lead to peace.

“In such an aggressive environment, you must be able to defend your territorial integrity and sovereignty through a combat-ready army, flexible diplomacy or stable economy,” he told reporters on Monday.

Khachatryan rejected the peace talks with Azerbaijan as “imitation” and called for a policy change.

He accused the Armenian leader of blackmailing and threatening people following Azerbaijan’s deadly border attack which killed four Armenian soldiers and wounded another last week.

“At the February 15 cabinet meeting, Pashinyan simply blackmailed the people, saying, “If I fight back, I could lose more men.” This is outright blackmail and a threat which is part of Pashinyan’s policy to break the spirit of the people,” Khachatchyan added.