Armenia's spiritual council blames PM Pashinyan for "defeatist thinking"

The Supreme Spiritual Council of the Armenian Apostolic Church called on the country's authorities to abandon "defeatist thinking and destructive steps", as well as to find reasonable and worthy solutions to overcome national challenges.

According to Sputnik Armenia, the council held a meeting after the sensational statements of the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan on Karabakh, as a result of which it adopted a statement.

“Nikol Pashinyan’s statements of May 22 revealed the real content of the peace agenda that the authorities offered to the public. The dangerous position of the authorities in the negotiation process on Karabakh and some border areas of the Republic of Armenia becomes obvious,” the statement says.

The Supreme Spiritual Council considers reprehensible and unacceptable unilateral concessions that are justified by the “peace agenda”.

It is noted that the "short-sighted" steps of the Armenian authorities can lead to "genocide and the expulsion of Armenians from Karabakh."

In a press briefing on May 22, PM Pashinyan revealed significant changes in Armenia's policy vis-à-vis Azerbaijan and Russia.

He said Armenia is ready to recognise Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan if Baku guarantees the security of the region's ethnic Armenian population.

“The 86,600 sq km of Azerbaijan’s territory includes Nagorno-Karabakh [Karabakh],” Pashinyan told a news conference.

“If we understand each other correctly, then Armenia recognises the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan within the named limits, and Baku – the territorial integrity of Armenia at 29,800 sq km,” added the Armenian premier.

Armenia and Azerbaijan are currently negotiating a peace treaty that could end the decades-long tensions between the two countries.

The next round of the talks between PM Pashinyan and Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev is scheduled for May 25 in Moscow.

The Azerbaijani authorities have publicly announced that the Armenian population of Karabakh are the citizens of Azerbaijan and their rights and security will be ensured based on the country's Constitution.

However, there are still calls for the recognition of so-called "status" and  "self-determination" right for those people, which Baku adamantly rejects as an intervention into its internal affairs.