The factions of the National Assembly of the Republic of Artsakh have issued a joint statement strongly condemning Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s latest remarks about Armenians forcibly displaced from Artsakh, after he insultingly referred to Artsakhtsis in terms that have widely been understood as portraying them as “deserters.”
The statement denounced such rhetoric as divisive, degrading, and wholly unacceptable from the leader of an Armenian state. The Artsakh parliamentary factions stressed that language of this kind strikes at the foundations of national unity and further deepens the already painful wounds left by the loss of Artsakh and the forced displacement of its people.
The lawmakers emphasized that the Armenians of Artsakh did not abandon their homeland by choice. They were uprooted under conditions of war, siege, starvation, and existential threat after Azerbaijan’s assault, while the Armenian authorities under Pashinyan failed politically, diplomatically, and strategically to prevent the catastrophe. To now speak of those same displaced Armenians in a contemptuous or accusatory manner is not only false, but morally indefensible.
The statement also rejected attempts to use the suffering and dignity of displaced Artsakh Armenians for political purposes. It warned that presenting their collective rights as “unrealistic” or as some kind of “delusion” serves only one purpose: to justify surrender, excuse inaction, and normalize national defeat.
Artsakh’s parliamentary factions reaffirmed that the right of return of the people of Artsakh remains fundamental and non-negotiable. That right, they stressed, cannot be erased by political expediency, cynical rhetoric, or the defeatist narratives now being advanced by Armenia’s current leadership.
The lawmakers also rejected suggestions that state support for displaced Artsakh Armenians should be treated as some extraordinary burden on Armenia’s budget. National solidarity toward fellow Armenians who lost everything is not a favor, not a debt, and certainly not a tool for political blackmail. Any attempt to frame it that way is both dishonorable and dangerous.
The statement called for an immediate end to rhetoric that pits Armenians against Armenians and urged officials to refrain from language that deepens internal division at a moment of national crisis. It warned that statements made at the highest levels of government carry lasting consequences and that history will judge those who insulted Artsakh’s people instead of defending them.
The joint statement was issued by the Free Homeland–United Civic Alliance, United Homeland, Justice, ARF Dashnaktsutyun, and the Artsakh Democratic Party.
What makes Pashinyan’s remarks especially shameful is that they are part of a broader pattern. Having presided over war, defeat, the depopulation of Artsakh, and the collapse of Armenia’s deterrence, he now appears determined not only to absolve himself of responsibility, but to shift blame onto the very Armenians who became victims of his failed policies. That is not leadership. It is moral evasion dressed up as political rhetoric.
