Parliament speaker Alen Simonian, who is a key political ally of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, said on Monday that they can no longer act as legitimate representatives of the Karabakh Armenians because Karabakh is not a “legal entity” anymore. Like Pashinian, Simonian pointed to a decree which Samvel Shahramanian, the Karabakh president, signed in September 2023 more than a week after an Azerbaijani military offensive that led to the exodus of the region’s ethnic Armenian population.
Shahramanian invalidated the decree liquidating the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic in December. He argued that he had to sign it in order to enable the Karabakh Armenians to safely flee to Armenia.
In a statement issued later on Monday, Gagik Baghunts, the acting speaker of the Karabakh parliament, insisted that it continues to function in exile one year after the “ethnic cleansing.” Its members “continue to bear responsibility for the fate of Artsakh Armenians in the current situation and make all possible efforts to ensure their collective return to the homeland under security guarantees,” said Baghunts.
One of those members, Aramayis Aghabekian, said on Tuesday that Armenia itself should be interested in Karabakh remaining a party to the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. He argued that the OSCE Minsk Group tasked with helping to resolve the conflict has not been dissolved by the pan-European organization despite Baku’s demands. The group co-headed by the United States, Russia and France has for decades had a mandate to negotiate with Karabakh’s elected representatives.
“Unlike these authorities, which are trying to convince everyone, including the world, that the Artsakh issue is closed, we are more than sure that it’s not,” said another Karabakh lawmaker, Metakse Hakobian. “Our activities are … aimed at keeping the Artsakh topic hot.”
She said the Karabakh leadership’s top priorities now are to deal with the socioeconomic problems of the Karabakh refugees in Armenia and their eventual return to their homeland. “That day will come,” added Hakobian.
By contrast, a senior lawmaker representing Armenia’s ruling Civil Contract party, said Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s political team sees no realistic chance of such a repatriation.
"All those who are trying to convince the people of Nagorno Karabakh that there is a possibility of return are adventurers trying to create tension in Armenia … in order to put a new political leash on Armenia’s neck,” Artur Hovannisian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
Pashinian has repeatedly indicated that the Karabakh issue is closed for his administration. He publicly recognized Azerbaijani sovereignty over Karabakh several months before the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive.