Pashinyan named the number of Armenian soldiers killed during the 44-day war in Nagorno-Karabakh

ArmInfo. During the 44-day war in Artsakh, 3,773 Armenian servicemen were killed, 243 were missing, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a parliamentary session on August 24, during the presentation of the government's program for the next 5 years.

In these extraordinary conditions, as the Prime Minister pointed out, he has to present the government's program: the grave consequences of the 44-day war, the non-return of some of the prisoners of war from Baku, thousands of internally displaced persons, the difficult socio-economic situation in the Republic of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, challenges to the security of Armenia and the invasion of Azerbaijani units into the territory of the Republic of Armenia, the crisis situation at the Sotk-Khoznavar section, periodic violations of the points of the trilateral statement of November 9, 2020. "Armenia has reached a turning point that is crucial for our statehood," Pashinyan said.

In this context, he expressed the hope that during the discussion of the government's program, the deputies will refrain from insults and a healthy discourse will be established based on real counterarguments.  The head of government once again stated that Yerevan is ready for constructive negotiations around the establishment of long-term peace in the region and is waiting for concrete proposals on the resumption of negotiations at both the high and the highest level. In his words, the Armenian government considers it important to resume the negotiation process within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group co- chairmanship.  Pashinyan stressed that at present in Azerbaijan, including through the trials of Armenian prisoners in far- fetched criminal cases, there is strong propaganda against the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Karabakh.  As the head of the Cabinet of Ministers explained, most of the convicted servicemen were captured after the signing of the trilateral statement, in the area of responsibility of the deployment of the peacekeeping contingent. In addition, as the Prime Minister pointed out, the Azerbaijani side has not yet signed the mandate of the peacekeepers. In this context, according to Pashinyan, their goal is to discredit the Russian peacekeeping contingent.

Meanwhile, as Pashinyan noted, Armenia will continue to strengthen and expand allied cooperation with Russia - Yerevan and Moscow continue to build up the capabilities of the 102nd Russian military base.  "It is necessary to separately emphasize the personal role of the President of Russia Vladimir Putin in maintaining peace and security in the region, stopping the 44-day war, returning prisoners, "Pashinyan noted. Actions will also be taken to further develop bilateral relations not only in a bilateral format, but also within the EAEU, CSTO and other structures.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan assured that the republic has no intentions to conquer territories.  "Armenia, like any peace-loving state, will develop and reform its Armed Forces, not for aggression, but for protection against possible aggression, and we have no intentions to conquer territories. Our intention is to defend our sovereignty and territorial integrity. We have no aggressive intentions, peace and stability in the region is our long-term strategy, "he said.

Nikol Pashinyan touched upon the demarcation and delimitation of borders with Azerbaijan, noting that the process should be started as quickly as possible. He expressed regret that "due to political noise, it was not possible to achieve the planned result in the spring." The unstable situation on a number of sections of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border is a serious threat to the start of these processes, "he said. Pashinyan recalled his early proposal to equal the withdrawal of the Armenian and Azerbaijani Armed Forces on the basis of Soviet cards. The Armenian side is ready to move forward on this agenda, he noted. ...  According to Pashinyan, the unblocking of regional communications will allow breaking the long-term blockade of the country. In this issue, he noted the importance of activating the work of the trilateral commission at the level of the deputy prime ministers of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan. The prime minister stressed that in any case, the issue will not be resolved within the framework of the "corridor logic", since neither in the statement of November 9, 2020, nor in the statement of January 11, 2021, there is talk of creating a corridor through the territory of Armenia.

Recall that the Armenian government today, on August 24, presents to the parliament the program of its activities for 2021-2026, approved by the Cabinet of Ministers on August 18. The opposition faction "I Have the Honor" stated that it is boycotting the discussion and "will return only to voice the problems that really worry the Armenian people." The head of the "Hayastan" faction ("Armenia" - ed. note) Seyran Ohanyan demanded the presence of all three deputies of the faction (former head of the Meghri community Mkhitar Zakaryan, former head of the community Artur Sargsyan and former head of the "Izmirlyan" MC Armen Charchyan - ed. note) currently under arrest. He also demanded that the Prosecutor General appear in the National Assembly to give explanations. The head of the faction called on parliamentarians to make a relevant statement.