His August 8 talks with Trump and Azerbaijani President Ilham held at the White House resulted in the initialing of an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty. Pashinian also pledged to give the United States exclusive rights to a transit corridor through Armenia demanded by Azerbaijan.
The draft treaty publicized in the following days does not resolve thorny issues such as the delineation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border or the release of at least 23 Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan. Nor does it say anything about Karabakh.
“Peace has been established between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan,” Pashinian declared in a 30-minute video address to the nation.
“As for our compatriots displaced from Karabakh, I have publicly stated more than once that I do not consider their ideas about return to be realistic,” he said. “And in general, I consider bilateral discussions of the return of people who became refugees after the start of the conflict in Armenia and Azerbaijan to be a dangerous factor that undermines the peace established between Armenia and Azerbaijan.”
“Our vision for the future of our compatriots displaced from Karabakh is as follows: with our support and that of the international community, they should settle down in Armenia and live, create, and establish themselves here as full citizens of Armenia,” added Pashinian.
Nagorno-Karabakh -- Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian holds a rally in Stepanakert, August 5, 2019.
Even before the White House agreements, Karabakh’s exiled leadership in Yerevan tried in vain to get the Armenian government to champion the Karabakh Armenians’ right to safe repatriation in peace talks with Baku. Pashinian made clear that the Karabakh issue is closed for his administration.
In an apparent reference to Russia, the Armenian premier again claimed on Monday that the issue was long “used by some forces as a tool to prevent Armenia's independence and sovereignty.” He himself had famously said in 2019 that “Artsakh is Armenia.” He stopped using the Armenian name of Karabakh after recognizing Azerbaijani sovereignty over the region in 2022.
More than 100,000 Karabakh Armenians, the region’s virtually entire remaining population, fled to Armenia in the space of a week following the Azerbaijani assault condemned by the U.S. and the European Union.
Azerbaijan denies forcing the Karabakh Armenians to flee their homes and says they can live there under Azerbaijani rule. Karabakh’s leaders and ordinary residents rejected such an option even before the exodus. Some of those leaders have said that only “international guarantees” could convince the refugees to return home. Yerevan has refused to seek such guarantees.