Independence Day 'not Pashinyan's holiday', ex-president says

Former Armenian President Levon Ter-Petrosyan hit out at Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, claiming that Independence Day “is not his holiday” because he “resents that independence as it was achieved not by him, but by others”.

In a social media post on Monday, Ter-Petrosyan accused Pashinyan of leading Armenia into “crushing defeat” through reckless policies, rejecting Russia’s proposal to stop the 2020 war, causing the depopulation of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), sacrificing thousands of soldiers and mishandling the plight of refugees.

He charged that Pashinyan had surrendered Artsakh’s leaders as hostages to Baku, tolerated the suffering of Armenian prisoners and now “cynically boasts of bringing peace” while demanding gratitude from the people.

“Pashinyan has already secured his ‘honorable’ place on the memorial plaque of Armenia’s infamous traitors,” Ter-Petrosyan wrote, listing him alongside historic figures accused of betrayal.