Armenia Is Considered an Aggressor Only by Aliyev, Erdoğan, and Nikol Pashinyan

September 23, 2025. Political analyst Beniamin Matevosyan wrote on his Telegram channel:

“Who, and under what legal basis, authorized Levon Ter-Petrosyan to deploy 18-year-old Armenian soldiers beyond the internationally recognized borders of the Republic of Armenia after the adoption and ratification of the Alma-Ata Declaration?” This rhetorical question was posed by none other than Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

According to Pashinyan’s logic, if Armenian soldiers were outside the borders of Armenia, then they were on the territory of another state. And by “another state,” Pashinyan clearly meant Azerbaijan - not Artsakh - despite the fact that he sent his own son to serve in the army there. In effect, Pashinyan is labeling Armenia as an aggressor and an occupying force.

It is worth noting that since December 8, 1991 - the date the Alma-Ata Declaration was signed - Armenia has joined numerous international organizations, including the CIS (1991), the UN (1992), the OSCE (1992), the CSTO (1992), the Council of Europe (2001), the WTO (2003), and the EAEU (2015). Not one of these bodies has ever rejected Armenia’s membership or accused it of being an “aggressor” or “occupier.”

When asked whether Armenia was ever sanctioned for the so-called "occupation of Artsakh," the answer would be - yes, but only by Turkey and Azerbaijan, who closed their borders with Armenia. This blockade, in practice, is a form of sanction.

However, no country or international body in the world has formally recognized Armenia as an aggressor. That narrative emerged only on September 23, 2025 - when Nikol Pashinyan publicly stated that 18-year-old Armenian soldiers had been deployed on the territory of another country, effectively referring to Azerbaijan.

Thus, as of today, Armenia is considered an aggressor only by Ilham Aliyev, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and Nikol Pashinyan.