Pashinyan, citing intelligence, dismisses last-stand narrative of 2023 Karabak

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Thursday, citing intelligence data, that contrary to widely held claims, Karabakh forces did not put up any significant resistance during the Azerbaijani military operations in 2023.

Speaking at a press briefing, Pashinyan said that up to 90% of the Karabakh military arsenal remained unused, according to intelligence assessments. He added that discussions held at Armenia’s Security Council produced findings that contradict claims that resistance in Karabakh was sustained “until the very end” in September 2023.

“I would prefer not to address this topic, but I want to say that after the 2023 events, a meeting of the Security Council of the Republic of Armenia was held, where the outcomes of the military operations were analyzed. Without being able to disclose much, I want to note that claims about fighting and so on are, to put it mildly, not consistent with reality, because according to data available to our intelligence—and not only intelligence—the vast majority of the available weapons and ammunition, perhaps 80% or even 90%, remained untouched,” Pashinyan said.

The Prime Minister also referred to preceding political processes, noting that prior to the military actions, an opportunity had been created for political solutions; however, according to him, certain representatives of Karabakh’s leadership obstructed that process.

“Before that, we had created an opportunity for a political process to take place, and certain representatives of the ruling circles in Karabakh not only hindered it but also carried out a change of power in Karabakh,” he said. According to Pashinyan, the September events occurred shortly afterward.

Pashinyan also asserted that some representatives of the former authorities of Karabakh left the region while accusing the Armenian government of keeping the borders closed.

“I said that the border is not closed, but I also want to note that I warned representatives of Karabakh at the time that if they left, there would be no possibility of return,” he said.

Addressing claims that the events in Nagorno-Karabakh amount to genocide, the Prime Minister said it is necessary to refrain from competing in such characterizations, emphasizing the importance of achieving peace in the region.

“It is enough to feed our people with claims about new genocides, and this race of genocides must stop altogether. In our region, everyone accuses everyone else of genocide,” he noted.

Pashinyan emphasized that the main goal of Armenia’s policy is to establish peace and focus on the Republic of Armenia.

“Our policy and strategy are as follows: we must become peaceful. As Charents once said, ‘There is the Republic of Armenia, and nothing else.’ Therefore, we must focus on the Republic of Armenia and build our lives there,” he said.

He did not rule out that additional data related to the 2023 events could be made public if necessary.

“As for these myths that they fought to the end and so on—if necessary, we will declassify that data. I am confident that this issue will unfold in due course; we will let it develop properly so that, as in the Nagorno-Karabakh negotiation process, I can make the right decision at the right moment and publish everything. It is false; no such thing happened. They fled, they escaped,” Pashinyan said, clarifying that he does not blame the people of Karabakh and that all accusations are directed at the Karabakh “elite.”