Opposition "undermining peace", says Pashinyan in parliament speech

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has accused the opposition of attempting to undermine peace and stability in the region, while defending his government’s approach to regional negotiations.

“And now they are promoting the line that I am pro-Turkish and pro-Azerbaijani,” he said, addressing the National Assembly of Armenia, Caliber.Az reports, citing Armenian media.

“These people say they are not against peace. They have never been against peace, they just discussed this peace thousands of kilometres away from the region — in Moscow, Brussels, Key West and so on,” he said.

Pashinyan also used a pointed analogy to stress his position on regional diplomacy. “I repeat once again: yes, we have long-term and guaranteed peace with Australia. But peace is peace if you have it in your own region. How do you imagine peace by seeking it outside the region? That is war! We had the courage to go and start talking.”

Responding to criticism over alleged undisclosed arrangements, he added: “They also say: this means Pashinyan has agreements. And? Is it not clear that we have agreements? Of course we do, and moreover, they are already signed, initialed, and some have even been ratified. The point is that their entire policy is against these agreements, which are the foundation of peace and stability, and if you remove this foundation, peace and stability will be destroyed. There are no threats here, it is simple, obvious logic!”

Emphasizing domestic political support for his approach, he said: “And yes, in these elections, the people must support peace in this sense, so that it is clear that the people of the Republic of Armenia support this policy and are the owners of this policy.”

He further insisted that all agreements had been made public. “At the same time, I emphasize that I have never had and do not have any agreements other than those that have been publicly announced!

The whole point is this — all agreements have been reached and published! They shouted that we do not allow them to read the text of the peace agreement, they even threatened to sue. We gave them access, and what did they do? They read the text, then came here and made completely false statements about it! Now the text is published, and when was the last time anyone from the ‘opposition’ came with the text in hand and started discussing anything specific from it?” Pashinyan said.

By Vafa Guliyeva