No talks on return of 300,000 Azerbaijanis to Armenia, PM Pashinyan says
Nikol Pashinyan comments on Mustafayev’s visit
“We have never discussed with Azerbaijan, and are not discussing, the return of 300,000 Azerbaijanis to Armenia,” Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said, responding to a journalist’s question about whether the issue had been included in the agenda of talks between the two countries’ deputy prime ministers. A day earlier, Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister Shahin Mustafayev met his Armenian counterpart Mher Grigoryan in Aghveran.
In recent days, Armenian opposition politicians had claimed in media appearances and on social media that such an agreement existed, making the question expected at the prime minister’s weekly briefing.
Nikol Pashinyan rejected those claims. He also stressed that the reverse process is not under discussion either — meaning the return of Armenians to Nagorno-Karabakh, Baku and other areas where they previously lived is not part of the current agenda for normalising relations.
“It is obvious that discussions in both directions have a provocative impact on the current political situation,” he said.
He described statements by local politicians as “cheap domestic political speculation.”
According to Nikol Pashinyan, the issue of return — both of Karabakh Armenians and Azerbaijanis — is being amplified to create internal political tension. He said the initiators are forces seeking to reignite confrontation between the two countries, citing the “Strong Armenia” party as an example.
“For instance, I am 100% sure that the Kaluga oligarch does not understand what he is saying or why. He is told to say it — and he does,” Pashinyan added, referring to party leader and Russian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan.
As usual during the briefing, the prime minister addressed a range of domestic and foreign policy issues, including the significance of Mustafayev’s visit, discussions between Armenian and Azerbaijani business representatives, and the return of Armenian detainees from Baku.
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“Vice-premiers’ meetings have historic significance”
Nikol Pashinyan attaches great importance to talks between the deputy prime ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, who also head the border delimitation commissions. He described meetings between Mher Grigoryan and Shahin Mustafayev as historic.
“They mark a new and important stage in institutionalising and strengthening peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” the prime minister said.
In his view, relations between the two countries should gradually improve, with peace becoming more entrenched:
“It is necessary to establish normal relations, and in the long term — strategically — these should become good-neighbourly relations.”
The first meeting of the Armenian–Azerbaijani border delimitation commissions took place in 2022. Recently, the sides have begun holding meetings not in third countries or on the interstate border, as before, but directly in Azerbaijan and Armenia. On 28 November 2025, an Armenian delegation travelled to Azerbaijan, where the commissions met in Gabala. On 29 April, an Azerbaijani delegation visited Armenia, with talks held in Aghveran.
“No obstacles to exports from Armenia to Azerbaijan”
Journalists asked who from Armenia had taken part in discussions with Azerbaijani business representatives during the deputy prime ministers’ meeting.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said he knows which Armenian business figures attended but declined to name them:
“If they consider it necessary, they will say so themselves. I will not name names, including for reasons you are aware of — to avoid bullying by certain marginal groups.”
Commenting on trade and economic ties, he noted that since November 2025 around 26,000 tonnes of goods have been delivered to Armenia via Azerbaijan.
“There are no political or technical barriers, no obstacles to exporting goods from Armenia to Azerbaijan,” he stressed.
He added that the sides have already exchanged lists of goods, expressing hope that Armenian exports to Azerbaijan will begin in the near future.
“We are discussing prisoner returns with Baku bilaterally”
Nikol Pashinyan again stressed that daily efforts are under way to secure the release of Armenian detainees held in Baku.
“When there are results, we will all see them. I say this not because I have information I do not want to share, but because my experience shows that until someone has crossed the border into Armenia, it is not serious to announce such a possibility,” he said.
According to the prime minister, Yerevan is discussing the issue with Baku in a bilateral format, which he considers the most effective.
“Our experience has shown that discussions in other formats do not bring significant results and have little potential. If we see potential for effective discussions in another format, we will not refuse that opportunity,” he added.
Nikol Pashinyan comments on Mustafayev’s visit
