“Azerbaijan, on the one hand, talks about ‘Western Azerbaijan,’ and on the other hand, it refers to ‘the Armenians of Karabakh.’ In my address of August 18 following August 8, 2025, I stated that the topic of return is a very dangerous one.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said this during a meeting with journalists in Hamburg, commenting on Azerbaijan’s claim that the Armenia–EU strategic agenda document includes the phrase ‘Armenians of Karabakh who became refugees after Azerbaijan’s military operations’.
“And I want to make an open, public proposal to Azerbaijan, because just as they have issues with these topics, we also have issues. I propose that we adopt a joint roadmap aimed at closing these two topics in parallel. I have also told our people of Karabakh that their return is not realistic.
If we continue the agenda of return, it means we are again starting the Karabakh movement, but I have said that we should not continue the Karabakh movement. The Karabakh movement has ended, and attempts to restart it are not helpful. But on the other hand, people in Armenia see that Azerbaijan constantly uses the unclear terminology of ‘Western Azerbaijan.’ Now we must understand which is the cause and which is the effect.
Now I am making a direct proposal, and I hope this proposal will be translated and reach its destination. I am saying: let us sit down and develop a roadmap on how to remove this topic, because removing it means eliminating any long-term strategic potential for conflict altogether.
I have said that there cannot be a ‘Western Azerbaijan’ in the Republic of Armenia, and yes, if we have recognized each other’s territorial integrity, and we have, then this must be fully implemented,” Nikol Pashinyan said.
