“Political statements that make the situation even more deadlocked should be avoided because statements without a clear vision of reaching the end point are of no use,” said Pashinian. “And then a political conversation between Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan should begin, and our partners in Nagorno-Karabakh should not allow anyone to accuse them of disrupting a constructive conversation or making such a conversation impossible.”
“The closure of the Lachine Corridor is a provocation the ultimate goal of which is a new military escalation, and no steps desirable for those developing the military escalation scenario should be taken,” he added during a weekly session of his cabinet.
Pashinian spoke the day after Karabakh’s government and main political factions criticized his statements on the conflict with Azerbaijan and, saying that they undermine the Karabakh Armenians’ right to self-determination. In a joint statement, they pledged to continue to fight for independence.
Davit Galstian, a Karabakh opposition leader who also signed the statement, dismissed Pashinian’s ensuing appeal to the authorities in Stepanakert.
“He is making it very clear that he is abandoning Artsakh,” Galstian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
Meanwhile, Alen Simonian, the Armenian parliament speaker and a top Pashinian ally, made clear that Yerevan will not negotiate with Azerbaijan on the reopening of the sole road connecting Karabakh to Armenia. The Karabakh leadership negotiated with Baku shortly after Azerbaijani protesters blocked the road on December 12, he said, adding that the talks should resume.
Simonian claimed that Baku may be keen to “draw” the Armenian government into such discussions in order to demand that Armenia open a similar corridor that would connect Azerbaijan to its Nakhichevan exclave.
“I presume that this is what the Lachin Corridor was closed for,” he told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
The speaker also complained that despite its repeated promises given to the Armenian side Russia is not doing enough to end the Azerbaijani blockade of the vital highway which is supposed to be controlled by Russian peacekeepers.
Other Armenian pro-government lawmakers alleged earlier that the Russians are using the blockade to try to clinch far-reaching concessions from Armenia. Moscow strongly denied that.
In Stepanakert, the Karabakh premier, Ruben Vardanyan, again dismissed on Thursday the Armenian criticism of the Russian peacekeepers and insisted that the latter “stand with us.”
“Stop targeting the Russians in this situation,” Vardanyan told Armenian reporters via video link. “If you realize that you are thus helping the Azerbaijanis, just stop it.”
“Had it not been for the Russian peacekeepers we would not have lived here now,” said the former investment banker who gave up his Russian citizenship last year.