Statehood building is an absolute priority for us today. What can this mean in the 34th year of independence? Can statehood building still be a priority 34 years after independence? Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan asked this in his concluding remarks during the debates on the implementation of the 2024 program of the Armenian government in the National Assembly Thursday.

"Yes. Because here we are talking not only about the state itself, but also about its essence, purpose, and content. The problem is that in the late 1980s, the idea of Armenia's independence was generated not for the sake of independence and statehood, but for the sake of resolving the Karabakh issue. That is, we created an independent state not for a better life, but for the Karabakh issue. This is a political reality, which is confirmed by research.

(…)

For about 30 years, we have built a model of a state that has been mainly and primarily dedicated to the resolution of the Karabakh issue, the Karabakh movement, and the logic of sacrificing everything for its sake. I do not say this as a criticism, but as a reality because all of us, or at least the majority, have been at peace with that model and goal.

I myself also was completely at peace with that model, until the moment when, as the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, while gaining access to facts and information, I gradually, step by step, initially vaguely, and then objectively realized that if for us independence, statehood are a means for the solution of the Karabakh issue we envision, for a number of external players the Karabakh issue is a means to prevent our independence, statehood, development, and prosperity, and then to put an end to our statehood,” Pashinyan stated.

He emphasized that the implementation of that goal entered its final phase in September 2020, reached its peak in May 2021, and that ultimate goal has collaborators in Armenia also, and these collaborators believe that the Karabakh issue is important and not independence and the state.

“(…). The ruling majority, I personally, say that any attempt to continue the Karabakh movement is destructive because it has been and will be a tool to prevent the statehood, independence, and sovereignty of Armenia. Unfortunately, we have realized this too late.

(…) the Republic of Armenia, on an area of 29,743 square kilometers, is not a means to have a larger homeland, but is the homeland state of our dreams and our final destination as a people," the Armenian premier emphasized.