The seemingly spontaneous protest was sparked by Pashinian’s comments made in the Armenian parliament earlier in the day amid continuing heavy fighting along Armenia’s border with Azerbaijan.
Pashinian told pro-government lawmakers that he is ready to “make tough decisions for the sake of peace.”
“We want to sign a document as a result of which many people will criticize, curse and declare us traitors,” he said. “The people could even remove us from power. We will still be happy if as a result of that [document] the Republic of Armenia gets a lasting peace and security on its 29,800 square-kilometer territory.”
He appeared to refer to an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty sought by Azerbaijan. Speaking earlier on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said Baku unleashed military aggression against Armenia in a bid to force Yerevan to accept all Azerbaijani terms of the deal.
Pashinian’s statement fueled rumors that he is about to bow to the Azerbaijani pressure and sign such a deal. Scores of angry people began gathering outside the parliament compound in Yerevan in the evening.
The crowd grew bigger in the following hours, blocking Marshal Bagramian Avenue adjacent to the sprawling compound. Antigovernment activists addressing it demanded that the National Assembly oust Pashinian through a vote of no confidence. Opposition lawmakers backed the demand when they joined the protesters.
A smaller crowd demonstrated outside the main government building in Yerevan in the meantime.
Pashinian took to Facebook at around midnight to accuse critics of misinterpreting his remarks and insist that he is not planning to sign any defeatist agreements.
“No document has been signed or is about to be signed,” he said in a live broadcast.
Pashinian also claimed that “external unfriendly forces” are trying to destabilize Armenia. He did not name them.
The country’s National Security Service (NSS) echoed Pashinian’s assurances in an extraordinary statement issued shortly afterwards. The NSS claimed that the prime minister’s comments were “distorted” by media and urged Armenians not to “succumb to manipulative statements.”
Most protesters remained unconvinced, however, insisting that lawmakers from Pashinian’s Civil Contract party back the motion of censure. The ruling party controls the majority of parliament seats.
Pashinian’s statement appeared to have also prompted serious concern from Nagorno-Karabakh’s leadership. Arayik Harutiunian, the Karabakh leader, warned that any deal upholding Azerbaijani sovereignty over the disputed territory is unacceptable to the Karabakh Armenians.
But in a follow-up statement posted on Facebook a couple of hours later, Harutiunian said that no Armenian-Azerbaijani accord has been drafted so far. He said he Armenia’s leadership has assured him that such a deal must “take into account the interests and views” of Karabakh’s population.
As the Yerevan protest gained momentum the Armenian Defense Ministry said that fighting on the border all but stopped at 8 p.m. local time. The secretary of Armenia’s Security Council, Armen Grigorian, announced shortly after midnight that Baku and Yerevan have agreed a new ceasefire deal brokered by the international community.
“Let’s hope that Azerbaijan will continue to observe this ceasefire,” Grigorian told Armenian Public Television.