All issues related to Artsakh were discussed with Armenia’s leadership, said Samvel Shahramanyan, the last president of Nagorno-Karabakh.
He also described Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s statement—that claims of Artsakh residents fighting are untrue—as “nonsense,” according to RFE/RL.
In his view, such “provocative wording aims to create divisions within society and deepen intolerance.”
Pashinyan had stated: “These myths—that they fought to the end and so on—are lies, nothing like that happened, they fled, they ran away.” He also said he could declassify relevant data if necessary.
Shahramanyan stressed that during the 2020 war, it was Armenia’s current authorities who were on the political and diplomatic front lines.
“It is precisely due to their actions that Artsakh residents find themselves in this situation today, and the Armenian people have lost Artsakh,” he said.
He recalled that during Azerbaijan’s offensive in September 2023, the prime minister had assured that Armenia had no army in Nagorno-Karabakh and was not involved in the hostilities.
Shahramanyan emphasized that Armenia’s security remains a priority, while Artsakh Armenians seek to avoid renewed military escalation but continue to assert their international right of return.
Addressing claims that Artsakh was dissolved by his decree and that former president Arayik Harutyunyan resigned under pressure, Shahramanyan said Harutyunyan had attempted to step down several times during the blockade.
“The last time Arayik Harutyunyan raised the issue of resigning, he justified it by saying he had lost public trust and lacked the resources to take actions that would lead Artsakh out of that situation. I did not see any political pressure on him from other politicians,” he stated.
Harutyunyan resigned as Artsakh president on September 1, 2023, emphasizing that the decision was entirely his own. He noted the need for changes in approach and a reshuffling of roles under the circumstances. On September 9, Artsakh’s parliament elected Samvel Shahramanyan as president. Ten days later, on September 19, Azerbaijan launched an attack on Nagorno-Karabakh, after which Shahramanyan signed a decree on the dissolution of Artsakh.
