Kocharyan claims Pashinyan agreed to corridor through Syunik

Second Armenian President Robert Kocharyan claims that the Armenian leadership has effectively already promised to grant Azerbaijan a corridor through Syunik Province.

In a televised interview with Channel 5 on Friday, Kocharyan said the recent statements by the Armenian Foreign Ministry and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan confirm the so-called "Meghri corridor" has long been part of ongoing negotiations.

Kocharyan noted that the proposed corridor was originally referenced in Clause 9 of the 9 November trilateral statement to parallel the status of the Lachin Corridor, which previously connected Armenia with Nagorno-Karabakh.

He argued that Armenia’s refusal to implement the clause and its reinterpretation led to Azerbaijan’s closure of the Lachin Corridor and the eventual loss of Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023, bringing the “Zangezur corridor” into the spotlight.

The former president criticized the Pashinyan government for what he described as a "diplomatic failure of historic proportions”, saying the corridor discussion now has a life of its own, detached from its original Karabakh context.

"It’s not a matter of whether the corridor will be conceded; the promise has essentially already been made. In fact, Azerbaijan's statements on this issue have proven more accurate than those of Nikol Pashinyan," Kocharyan stated.

Referring to domestic issues, he accused Pashinyan's government of derailing the promises of the 2018 revolution, citing continued high poverty rates, rising social polarization and large-scale corruption involving the Armenian National Interests Fund (ANIF) and the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund.

“This isn’t just corruption anymore—it’s outright plunder,” he stressed.

Kocharyan also denounced the authorities’ attempts to blame others for their failures, including the Armenian Apostolic Church.

“I’ve thought a lot and still don’t understand what clerical celibacy has to do with national security,” he remarked. “Yet, somehow, Nikol Pashinyan finds a connection.”

Looking ahead, he predicted that Pashinyan’s political capital is in steep decline.

"His approval rating is in freefall. From this perspective, his chances for re-election are close to zero,” the ex-president asserted.

Meanwhile, Kocharyan acknowledged challenges within the opposition as well, noting unhealthy competition and fragmented approaches, particularly in discussions around Pashinyan’s impeachment, which he likened to a Soviet-era joke about Western spies failing to understand what trade unions do in the USSR.

Still, Kocharyan emphasized that each opposition force has the right to adopt the strategy it deems most effective.

“Though, the self-flagellation has gone a bit overboard among some expert circles,” he added.