During news briefings in parliament on Thursday lawmakers representing the Hayastan and Pativ Unem factions, in particular, referred to the current situation with discontinued gas supply to Nagorno-Karabakh that de-facto authorities in the Armenian-populated region blame on Azerbaijan.
“The current government of Armenia is trying to wash its hands, giving up on the Artsakh [Nagorno-Karabakh – ed.] issue. The Republic of Armenia thus renounces its obligation to guarantee the sovereignty and security of Artsakh,” Deputy Parliament Speaker Ishkhan Saghatelian, of the Hayastan faction, claimed.
Pativ Unem’s Tigran Abrahamian, meanwhile, criticized the government for lacking a long-term strategy on Nagorno-Karabakh in conditions of increased pressure on the region from Azerbaijan.
Tigran Abrahamian, a member of the opposition Pativ Unem faction in parliament (file photo).
“The problem here is not only gas supply, the problem here is not only the implementation of certain social programs, the problem is much more complicated, it is much bigger. Regardless of the fact that these issues cannot be solved within a couple of days, the government must have complex programs that also take into account the security component, because the accumulation of these issues, the failure to resolve these issues can lead to two major consequences – either there will be an exodus of Armenians from Artsakh, or it may lead to a new war,” Abrahamian said.
During a government session earlier on Thursday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian acknowledged that the second disruption of natural gas supply to Nagorno-Karabakh this month has brought the region to the verge of a “humanitarian disaster.”
He said that Armenia is raising this issue with the international community.
Speaking in parliament on Wednesday, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan also said that Yerevan is using all diplomatic channels to achieve a solution to the gas supply issue in Nagorno-Karabakh that creates humanitarian problems for the region’s population in conditions of still freezing temperatures despite early spring.
Mirzoyan also reaffirmed that Armenia is seeking peace talks with Azerbaijan that would, among other things, address the rights and status of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Pro-government Civil Contract faction member Arman Yeghoyan also said during today’s news briefings that both the government and parliamentarians are working with international partners on a daily basis regarding the situation with the discontinued gas supply to Nagorno-Karabakh.