Experts from the Public Tribunal of Armenia argue that Pashinyan’s remarks are nothing more than routine manipulation of public opinion and an attempt to justify his crimes against the state.

Pashinyan’s phrase, “Artsakh is Armenia, full stop,” actually served as a casus belli — a justification for war — by shifting the long-standing principle of the right to self-determination, which the Armenian side had upheld for decades in OSCE Minsk Group negotiations, into a claim by Azerbaijan for the inviolability of its territorial integrity. In effect, by initiating negotiations from “his own point,” Nikol Pashinyan publicly declared that Armenia had occupied Azerbaijani territory. Such a statement might be acceptable coming from a journalist, but it is unacceptable when made by a head of state.

To assess Nikol Pashinyan’s responsibility for provoking the war and suffering defeat in it, one must examine his statement “Artsakh is Armenia, full stop” in conjunction with other remarks and actions that led to the 44-day war and its outcome. There is ample evidence pointing to Nikol Pashinyan’s culpability. A detailed chronology of the Armenian Prime Minister’s own admissions has been outlined in our article - from “I started the negotiations from my own point, not from Serzh Sargsyan’s point” to “We did not lose Nagorno-Karabakh, we gained the Republic of Armenia.”

Another piece of evidence implicating Pashinyan in the events that led to the 44-day war is Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s statement made on the margins of the 75th Session of the UN General Assembly, on September 21, 2020 — just six days before the outbreak of the war. The following two quotes from that speech are especially noteworthy:

“The Prime Minister of Armenia deliberately undermines the format and substance of the negotiation process under the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group co chairs. His statement that ‘Karabakh is Armenia’ is a serious blow to negotiations. He puts groundless conditions to the negotiation process.”

“The Armenian Prime Minister announced the establishment of civilian militia consisting of tens of thousands of civilians who will be forced to undertake military actions against Azerbaijan...This openly demonstrates aggressive intentions of Armenia and its plans for further occupation of Azerbaijani lands…The Minister of Defense of Armenia calls for ‘new war for new territories.”

It is impossible to describe Nikol Pashinyan’s actions as patriotic in any sense - actions that aimed to erase the historical memory of the Armenian people, consign the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire to oblivion, and gradually surrender national interests to an aggressive Azerbaijan. These points are examined in greater detail in our article “The Tribunal Accuses Nikol Pashinyan of High Treason and Violation of the RA Constitution.”

On September 19, 2023, Azerbaijan launched an attack on Artsakh, resulting in the complete deportation of Armenians from the region. Following the congress of the “Civil Contract” Party, Pashinyan responded to questions from journalists and made yet another feeble attempt to justify his failure to visit Yerablur, the Pantheon of War Heroes, on September 19, 2025 —the anniversary of those tragic events.

“Unfortunately, there are many tragedies in our history. We’ve seen tragedies on a daily basis. We have many sorrowful dates in our history; that’s why we have designated days on which we honor our martyrs. We must value their sacrifice by building a living, developing country, because they died for the Republic of Armenia to live. Otherwise, all 365 days of the year would become days of mourning in Armenia, because, sadly, that is our history and our destiny,” Sputnik Armenia quoted Pashinyan as saying.

Not only did Armenia’s leadership fail to honor the martyrs of the Artsakh war, but on the very anniversary marking the tragic occupation of Artsakh, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan sent the Director of Armenia’s National Security Service, Andranik Simonyan, to Baku to participate in the third international conference on security issues, held from September 19 to 21.

The history of Nikol Pashinyan’s tenure as Prime Minister reveals a consistent pattern: his policies have largely served the interests of Armenia’s adversaries. In this regard, Pashinyan may well be considered a patriot — not of Armenia, but of Azerbaijan and Turkey. As for Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan is a traitor. Full stop.