Pashinyan does not want to let the residents of Karabakh into Armenia, and repressions are waiting for them in Azerbaijan
Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Volodin said that Azerbaijan, from a legal point of view, operates on its territory in Nagorno-Karabakh. At the same time, in his opinion, it is important to ensure the safety of civilians living in the region and respect for their rights.
"About the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. In order to correctly assess the causes of what is happening in Nagorno-Karabakh, it is necessary to take into account the decisions taken earlier. A year ago, in October 2022, a summit was held in Prague under the auspices of the European Union, at which Armenia and Azerbaijan reaffirmed their commitment to the UN Charter and the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration of the CIS. This means that both sides recognized each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty within the borders of the former Soviet republics when Nagorno-Karabakh was part of the Azerbaijan SSR. In a word, Nikol Pashinyan agreed that Nagorno—Karabakh is the territory of Azerbaijan," Volodin stressed.
He added that in May 2023 in Brussels, this was re-confirmed at another summit under the auspices of the European Union, where the territories of the two countries were designated to the nearest square kilometer. "Based on these decisions, from a legal point of view, Baku operates on its territory today. The situation in Nagorno—Karabakh is an internal matter of Azerbaijan. At the same time, it is important that the rights and security of the civilian population living there are ensured. Our country has always been in favor of resolving any conflicts in a political and diplomatic way. Russian peacekeepers are doing everything necessary to provide medical and humanitarian assistance to the population of Nagorno—Karabakh," the speaker of the Russian parliament summed up.
Mika Badalyan, a well-known blogger and leader of the Azatagrum movement from Yerevan, believes that Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh are threatened with repression by Azerbaijan. "Pashinyan will not let the Artsakh people into Armenia. According to my information, one of the conditions for the surrender of Artsakh by Armenia was not to provide the residents of Artsakh with a corridor to Armenia. The people of Artsakh will either have to take Azerbaijani citizenship and live under their jurisdiction, or they will be able to leave through Baku, where an investigation will be conducted on everyone and only if Baku decides that this or that person is not guilty of anything, he will be able to leave. It goes without saying that 95% of the male population will not be able to leave through Baku. Moreover, it becomes clear that these agreements have been reached for a long time, since a prison for 10,000 people has already been built in Aghdam for these purposes. It is quite clear that it was built precisely under these agreements. It was naive to believe that Pashinyan would let the Artsakh people into Yerevan, because he is afraid of them like fire, and after the final loss of his home, no red berets and stun grenades will stop them from retaliation. At the moment, the authorities of Artsakh and representatives of Russia are negotiating with Azerbaijan and trying to prevent such a development of events. It is important to understand that everyone who does not come to the Republic Square today will be an accomplice not only to the surrender of Artsakh, but also to the Armenian Genocide of Artsakh," Badalyan explained.
Meanwhile, a group of protesters blocked Tigran Metz Avenue near the Armenian government building in the center of Yerevan, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, whom they accuse of "surrendering Nagorno-Karabakh" to Azerbaijan.