Armen Grigorian, the secretary of Armenia’s Security Council, claimed earlier this week that the ongoing Azerbaijani road blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh is aimed at clinching such concessions from Yerevan. Although Grigorian did not explicitly name the country allegedly exerting such pressure, he was widely understood to have referred to Russia.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov strongly denied Grigorian’s “provocative” comments on Tuesday.
Grigorian’s office on Wednesday declined to clarify whether Russian officials have indeed told Yerevan to open the exterritorial land corridor for Azerbaijan or join the Russian-Belarusian “union state.”
Parliament deputies from Pashinian’s Civil Contract party said, for their part, that they have not heard Armenian government officials allege such pressure.
“I don’t think that there was a direct proposal [from Russia,]” one of them, Vigen Khachatrian, told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
“I think that [Grigorian] should speak up more prudently or come up with facts … If he has facts he must publicize them,” Khachatrian said.
“I haven’t heard about such [Russian] proposals,” said Gagik Melkonian, another pro-government lawmaker.
Both Khachatrian and Melkonian stood by their earlier claims that Moscow is using the closure of the sole road connecting Karabakh to Armenia to try to clinch geopolitical concessions from Yerevan. They said they continue to believe that the Russians are coordinating their actions with Baku.
At the same time, Melkonian said: “That’s my view. I’m not expressing the government’s view.”
Armenia - The opposition Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) holds a rally in Yerevan, December 28, 2022.
Armenian opposition leaders have dismissed Grigorian’s allegations, saying that Pashinian’s government is thus trying to dodge responsibility for its failure to cope with grave security challenges facing Armenia. They blame the government for the continuing Azerbaijani blockade.
“Yes, the Russian peacekeepers must do their job and not succumb to Azerbaijani provocations. But is our government doing [its job?]” said Ishkhan Saghatelian, a leader of the Dashnaktsutyun party affiliated with the main opposition Hayastan alliance.
Saghatelian spoke to reporters as he attended an antigovernment demonstration organized by Dashnaktsutyun’s youth wing. Hundreds of its members and supporters marched to the main government building in Yerevan.
“Armenia’s government is to blame for the existing situation,” Sevak Nazarian, a Dashnaktsutyun activist, told the crowd.
“About 120,000 citizens of Armenia live in Artsakh,” he said. “The Armenian authorities are obliged to ensure their peace and welfare. If they are unable or have no desire [to do that] there is only one option: they must go.”
“If the Armenian authorities take a pro-Armenian position on this issue I’m sure that the [Russian] peacekeeping mission will solve it much more easily,” added Nazarian.
Grigorian rejected the opposition criticism on Monday. “When they [opposition leaders] accuse us they raise an important question: are they in opposition to our government or to the Republic of Armenia as a whole?” he told state television.