If we wanted to hand over Karabakh, we would have carried out to the end the negotiation logic left by [third President] Serzh Sargsyan. With that, we would have handed over Karabakh because if even if a referendum were to take place, it would have to take place within the timeframes agreed between the parties. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated this Thursday at the National Assembly of Armenia—and referring to the accusations that the incumbent Armenian authorities have handed over, or want to hand over, Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) to Azerbaijan.

"Azerbaijan was saying very clearly, 'There will be no referendum in the next 50 years, let the Azerbaijanis return to Karabakh, they will live together side by side, the Azerbaijani settlements will be returned, 50 years, 100 years, then we will see. We do not agree to any other term.'

We are told that we [the incumbent Armenian authorities] have handed over Shushi [city of Artsakh]. The war [in the fall of 2020] was for Shushi. They say, 'You should have stopped, prevented the war.' Weren’t we thinking about stopping, preventing the war? It was impossible to stop or prevent the war without Shushi. It was simply not possible. The [Armenian soldier] boys who fell, stood for this very right, stood for the opportunity not to hand over Karabakh. What I am saying is about not handing over Karabakh. If we go on another road, we will hand over Karabakh. The incidents of Parukh [village of Artsakh] are an example for you—piece by piece. It is enough to deceive each other!" Pashinyan stated.