Opposition Armenian MP on Pashinyan government`s concessions to  Azerbaijan 

ArmInfo. Member of the National Assembly of Armenia from the opposition faction "Armenia" Ishkhan Saghatelyan presented the main concessions made unilaterally during  the negotiations with Azerbaijan under the Prime Minister of Armenia  Nikol Pashinyan. The Dashnaktsakan made a corresponding statement  after the Armenian Prime Minister's statements in an interview with  the country's Public Television that the Armenian government did not  make any unilateral concessions during the negotiations with  Azerbaijan.

Saghatelyan noted that after Pashinyan's statements, it became  necessary to remind the public of all the concessions made by the  current Armenian authorities after the signing of the so-called  ceasefire agreement of November 9, 2020.

"The Armenian Armed Forces withdrew from their positions in December  2020 by order of Pashinyan, which led to the loss of dominant  positions in Syunik and their transfer to the control of Azerbaijan.  This concession was justified by the threat of war. Then, on May 12,  2021, when the Azerbaijani Armed Forces invaded the sovereign  territory of Armenia without resistance, including the Black Lake  areas in the Syunik region and the villages of Verin Shorzha and Kut  in the Gegharkunik region, capturing about 41 square kilometers of  land. The current government again surrendered strategic positions  without resistance, saying:  why do we need heights where snow lies  for six months? ", - Saghatelyan recalled.

The Dashnaktsakan then recalled the transfer of a 21-kilometer  section of the Goris-Kapan interstate road and part of the village of  Shurnukh to Azerbaijan in November 2021, adding that on November 15  of the same year, the Azerbaijani side established a checkpoint on  the Kapan-Chakaten highway.

"Thus, the road was handed over to the enemy, cutting off a short and  convenient connection between six neighboring villages and Kapan. In  March 2022, Azerbaijani units invaded the administrative territory of  Nerkin Hand for about a kilometer in peaceful conditions without  firing a single shot and established five positions there,  establishing control over new territories," the oppositionist  continued.

Saghatelyan further recalled that in April 2022, Pashinyan announced  "lowering the bar" on the Artsakh issue, thereby fulfilling another  Azerbaijani precondition, according to which Armenia refused to be  the guarantor of Artsakh's security in the process of realizing the  right to self-determination.

Later, as the MP noted, on August 25, 2022, the settlements of  Berdzor, Aghavno and Sus were transferred to Azerbaijan. At the same  time, the oppositionist drew attention to the fact that the transfer  of the Lachin corridor connecting Artsakh with Armenia, as well as  the adjacent settlements, was not provided for in the trilateral  statement of November 9, 2020. In addition, according to him, with  the transfer of these settlements, the gas pipeline and power line  supplying Artsakh also came under the control of Azerbaijan, which  led to serious consequences during the days of the blockade.

"As a result of all this, the enemy reached the outskirts of the  village of Teh Goris, seizing rural lands and pastures. On September  13-14, 2022, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces invaded the sovereign  territory of Armenia in the direction of Gegharkunik, Syunik and  Vayots Dzor, occupying up to 220 square kilometers.  We had more than  200 victims, and the main reason for this was the surrender of  strategic positions in this direction," the opposition MP explained.

"In October 2022, verbally in Prague, and then in May 2023, with a  written agreement in Granada, Pashinyan fulfilled another demand of  Baku, recognizing Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan. Pashinyan even  signed a unilateral document in Granada, in which he recognized the  territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, covering 86,600 square  kilometers. Later, referring to these statements, Azerbaijan blocked  the Lachin corridor, besieging Artsakh," the oppositionist added.

According to him, in September 2023, during the days of Azerbaijani  aggression against Artsakh and ethnic cleansing of the NKR, Pashinyan  fulfilled the following demand of Azerbaijan, leaving the Armenians  of Artsakh alone with the aggressor and publicly refusing to ensure  the safety of about 120,000 people who are citizens of Armenia.

"At the same time, Azerbaijani Ruslan Penakhov, who crossed the line  of contact in the Teh community area on February 28, 2024, was  returned to Azerbaijan by the Armenian side as a sign of goodwill,  without receiving prisoners in return.

The same thing happened with the Azerbaijanis who invaded the  territory of Armenia from the Sisian side, who killed an Armenian  citizen in Kapan. They were also returned to Azerbaijan without  exchange," Saghatelyan noted.

Continuing, the MP recalled that in 2024, another unilateral  concession with the threat of war took place in Tavush, where  Armenian troops retreated from their positions, transferring the  territories of four villages under the control of Azerbaijan. At the  same time, the Dashnaktsakan emphasized that, at the request of  Azerbaijan, Pashinyan refused to discuss the issues of protecting the  rights and returning the Armenians of Artsakh during the  negotiations, considering the Artsakh issue closed and thereby trying  to legitimize the genocide committed by Azerbaijan in the region. At  the same time, he recalled that during the negotiation process,  Azerbaijan put forward a precondition for changing the Constitution  of Armenia.

"A few months later, Pashinyan said that Armenia needs a new  Constitution, outlining a clear framework for holding a referendum.  In addition, during the negotiations, the President of Azerbaijan  also put forward a demand to submit a joint statement on the  dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group, to which Nikol Pashinyan again  agreed. For a long time, the negotiation document remained  uncoordinated with Azerbaijan's demands to withdraw claims from  international courts and prevent the deployment of forces along the  border.

In March 2025, Azerbaijan stated that Armenia had also agreed to  these points. Thus, Azerbaijan's condition on Armenia's  demilitarization also partially became a reality. Furthermore, at the  request of Azerbaijan, a clause was included in the agreement with  Armenia according to which the parties undertake to fight against  those who act against the "peace agenda" within the country, thereby  giving Azerbaijan the opportunity to interfere in the internal  affairs of Armenia," Saghatelyan continued.

Speaking about another concession, the oppositionist recalled that  Nikol Pashinyan handed over 972 minefield maps in Artsakh to  Azerbaijan without preconditions in 2021, and handed over 8 new  minefield maps to Baku in January 2024. As the MP recalled, these  were maps of exceptional importance, since it would have taken 10-15  years to demined the mined areas without these maps. "This list of  concessions does not include the results of the 44-day war, as a  result of which we lost our victory, the second Armenian statehood -  Artsakh with a territory of 12 thousand square kilometers, a  thousand-year-old historical cultural heritage, monuments, mines and  all the wealth," the opposition MP added.

At the same time, as Saghatelyan noted, Baku's demands do not end  there - they also include the provision of a so-called "corridor",  the resettlement of Azerbaijanis in Armenia and the surrender of  "enclaves". "All attempts by the capitulator in the person of the  Prime Minister of Armenia to falsify facts, lie, distort reality and  disguise his destructive role for the nation have already been  exhausted," the Dashnaktsakan concluded.