Opposition MP: Serzh Sargsyan maintained 'clear and consistent' Karabakh policy

Armenian opposition MP Tigran Abrahamyan on Wednesday criticized Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s shifting positions on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, contrasting them with what he described as the “clear and unchanged” approach of former President Serzh Sargsyan.

Abrahamyan, secretary of the Pativ Unem faction, said in a Facebook post that although parts of the peace proposals negotiated over the past three decades were released “in a distorted and incomplete manner”, they revealed the evolution of negotiation frameworks and the red lines of former Armenian leaders.

He stressed Pashinyan had adopted three different positions on a settlement since taking office, referencing self-determination for Nagorno-Karabakh, later suggesting it form part of Armenia’s territorial integrity and eventually recognizing it as part of Azerbaijan.

By contrast, Abrahamyan said the 2008-2018 negotiation package upheld the principle of Artsakh’s self-determination, including an implementation mechanism through a legally binding referendum based on the 1988 demographic composition. While the proposals had undergone adjustments, he said Sargsyan’s administration had maintained firm red lines, pointing to a letter sent to the Russian president as evidence of efforts to defend them.

“Most importantly, Serzh Sargsyan’s core approaches to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict were clear and consistent unlike those of the current leader,” the MP wrote.