“You are handing over Artsakh to Azerbaijan, you are giving away Artsakh, you are ceding homeland, you are ceding Armenia’s historical lands,” Oskanian said in a video message to Pashinian posted on Facebook late on Thursday.
“This is not within your authority,” he said. “You have no such moral right because you know well that according to opinion polls, more than 90 percent of Armenia’s population is against Artsakh being part of Azerbaijan with any status.”
Oskanian argued that Pashinian’s policy runs counter to Armenia’s constitution and the ruling Civil Contract party’s 2021 election manifesto which pledged support for the Karabakh Armenians’ right to self-determination.
The appeal came one day before Pashinian’s fresh meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev that will be hosted by the European Union’s top official, Charles Michel, in Brussels. The three men will focus on an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty sought by Baku.
During and after their previous Brussels talks held in May, Pashinian pledged to recognize Azerbaijani sovereignty over Karabakh through such a treaty. Oskanian, who had served as foreign minister from 1998-2008, joined the Armenian opposition and Karabakh’s leadership in condemning that move.
Oskanian insisted on Thursday that there is an alternative to accepting such a peace deal. He proposed, in particular, that Pashinian bring up at the upcoming summit the fact that Karabakh had an autonomous status in Soviet times. This will “significantly change the whole logic of the negotiations,” he said without elaborating. A spokeswoman for the Armenian premier on Friday declined to immediately comment on the proposal.
Oskanian declared earlier this month that he and other experienced diplomats can quickly turn things around if Pashinian lets take over the negotiating process and stays “silent.” Sargis Khandanian, the pro-government chairman of the Armenian parliament committee on foreign relations, shrugged off that statement.
“I don’t know how to react to such exotic proposals made from time to time,” Khandanian told reporters.