'We decided to leave someone else’s pocket and become independent state' – Pashinyan
Pashinyan on national independence
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan addressed parliament to outline his vision of the country’s progress between 2018 and 2025. He declared the main achievement of his government was steering Armenia out of what he called “someone else’s pocket,” ending its role as a proxy for another state.
Pashinyan opened by responding to opposition accusations that, in 2018, he appointed an “agent of foreign influence” to senior military positions. He countered that the Dashnaktsutyun party, represented by the accusing MP, has itself acted as an agent of foreign influence globally for at least the past 70 years. He labelled both opposition parliamentary factions as foreign-influenced, without specifying the country—though the reference was likely to Russia, as opposition figures and former presidents Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan are widely seen as pro-Russian.
“They want to instil disgust, contempt, and disrespect toward modern Armenia. We must decide whether we will tolerate a network of foreign influence agents in our parliament. My answer is no. Their hysteria shows that this is their last chance to reclaim our country and put it back into the very pocket we have managed to leave,” Pashinyan said.
He argued that Armenia has remained in this “pocket” since gaining independence, largely because of the Nagorno-Karabakh situation.
Pashinyan suggested that, when he came to power in 2018, outside actors expected Armenia to give up its independence.
“They did not get what they wanted. Today, Armenia is an independent state with a centre of sovereign will that can make decisions on its own,” the prime minister said.
What else did Nikol Pashinyan say? Here are the main points from his speech in parliament.
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Mission accomplished: peace has been established
“The government [in its 2021 programme] set itself the highest and most noble goal — to usher in an era of peaceful development for the entire region and for Armenia. We have fulfilled our main mission.
These people [the parliamentary opposition] say: ‘No, this is not peace.’ But what is peace? We don’t know what peace means. Armenia has no concept of, nor experience in, living in peace.
Peace is that over the past year and eight months, no soldier has died on the border. Peace is that residents of border settlements have gone three months without hearing gunfire. Peace is that, for the first time in 30 years, a train arrived in Armenia via Azerbaijani territory, bringing wheat.”
Karabakh’s independence issue is ‘fake’
“In our 2021 election program, we included specific provisions on Karabakh, which clearly stated that peacekeepers — including Armenia, but primarily the peacekeepers themselves — are responsible for guaranteeing both aspects.
Could we have pushed these provisions aggressively, like a bulldozer, regardless of consequences? We certainly could, but doing so would have put the very existence of our state at risk and undermined its sovereignty.
True political leadership means taking responsibility that no one else is willing to shoulder, especially when the stakes involve national security and the future of our country. Soon, the full negotiation documents regarding the Karabakh settlement will be released, and they will reveal that the concept of Karabakh’s independence is entirely a myth and not based on any legal or political reality.”
The ruling party has safeguarded Armenia
“What would have happened if we had not come to power in 2018, following the so-called Velvet Revolution? We were the only force capable of taking this path, and had any other political group assumed power, the Republic of Armenia as it exists today would likely not exist. As immodest as it may sound, I must say this — and it is the mission we are fulfilling.
In 2021, I said that if the people decided to execute me, I would silently stand against the wall. I repeat that today. But whereas back then we felt uncertainty in some matters, now we have clarity. I am confident in the path we chose.
We are only beginning to understand what a true state is. The former leaders and the political forces they led do not understand what a state means. They only know what a outpost is. We too were once an outpost; we too were stuck in that ‘pocket’. But we decided we had to leave it. We decided that we must become an independent state.”
There will be no deviation from the peace agenda.
“Let me return to the issue of arms and military equipment. Armenia will face a disaster unless we state clearly: our task is not to build combat capability or military power for its own sake, but to secure our defence. We also have no problems that need to be solved outside our internationally recognised territory. Yet the opposition keeps pushing us in a different direction.
We have not deviated — and will not deviate even by a millimetre — from the peace agenda. This is our commitment to our people. And yes, we will talk only about strengthening our defence.
We also say openly that we will not launch a military operation in Artsvashen [an Armenian enclave], or in any other territory currently under Azerbaijani control. There is simply no need for that.
Peace is a process. If peace had already been fully established, we would not have to take it step by step. We would simply say: peace is achieved, and now it only needs to be maintained.”
Armenia’s fate lies in its own hands
“We must protect today’s Armenia, because it is a far stronger, more confident, and more established state than ever before.
Today’s Armenia is a nation whose fate rests in its own hands and in the hands of its people.
At no other time in history has Armenia had such an opportunity to become a thriving, happy, independent, and secure state. I am not speaking about the last five years, but the last five centuries.
And yes, we must recognise that we achieved this through extremely difficult and brutal trials. We gained our independence at the cost of the lives of our martyrs. Today, Armenia is experiencing the best period in its history over the past 500 years, and it is crucial to understand this.”
Pashinyan on national independence
