Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Armenia will not pursue a policy of “historical justice,” warning that such an approach risks perpetuating cycles of conflict.

“I believe we must pursue just reality, not the restoration of ‘historical justice,’ because the more we chase it, the more new injustices we will encounter,” Pashinyan said, emphasizing that the government’s priority is ensuring housing, employment, security and stability for displaced Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh.

He also cautioned against labeling the 2023 events in Karabakh as ethnic cleansing, arguing that such terminology could escalate tensions and provoke reciprocal accusations.

Pashinyan claimed that intelligence assessments indicate that Karabakh forces offered limited resistance during Azerbaijan’s September 2023 military operation, with “perhaps 80% or even 90%” of weapons left unused. He noted that this contradicts claims that fighting continued “until the very end.”

The prime minister attributed part of the outcome to internal political dynamics, alleging that elements within the Karabakh leadership obstructed a potential settlement before the escalation and later left the region, reducing the prospects for return.

Rejecting what he described as a “race of genocides” in regional narratives, Pashinyan stressed that Armenia’s strategic focus must remain on peace and statehood.

Rejecting what he described as a “race of genocides” in regional discourse, Pashinyan stressed that Armenia’s strategic priority is peace and statehood. “It is enough to feed our people with claims about new genocides… We must become peaceful… There is the Republic of Armenia, and nothing else,” he said.

Separately, he addressed the future of Armenia’s railway system, currently operated by a Russian concession, noting that the government is open to transferring management to a third-party operator, including a potential Kazakh company, if mutually acceptable.

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