Political analyst slams Pashinyan's comments on 2020 war defeat

Political analyst Gagik Hambaryan has lambasted Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s recent remarks on Armenia’s defeat in the 2020 war with Azerbaijan.

At a meeting with the Armenian American community on Monday, Pashinyan said that "by going through defeat, we have gained the opportunity to have an independent and sovereign state.”

In a social media post, Hambaryan called his statement an absurd attempt to justify Armenia’s "humiliating defeat", stressing that Armenia has been relegated to the sidelines in international discussions as a defeated country.

"The fact that, thanks to Nikol, Azerbaijan has not only been gifted Artsakh, but also has seized an area the size of Yerevan inside Armenia – and now has free rein in Jermuk, Areni, Sisian, Kapan and the border villages of Tavush – is a 'key indicator' of our independence," the analyst wrote.

"I had never seen a nation take pride in its own defeat until now. It turns out that nation is Armenia," he added.