Opposition MP Anna Mkrtchyan from the "I Have Honor" faction expressed discontent with the model of Armenia's map displayed in the National Assembly hall, claiming that it omits Artsakh and several other regions.

“They have turned the pain of the Armenian people, our collective tragedy, into scrap metal and hung it on the parliament wall to humiliate and demean us further. This is a cruel irony, as the duty to display this map was assigned to someone who, years ago, claimed Aghdam as his homeland, calling himself 'Aghdamtsi Alen,' and vowed never to surrender even one centimeter of Artsakh. Now, this so-called map has erased not only Aghdam but half of our homeland,” Mkrtchyan declared, as reported by Sputnik Armenia.

Following her remarks, she displayed a unified map of Armenia and Artsakh on the parliamentary podium. However, moments later, a state security officer entered the hall and removed the map.

Deputy Speaker of Parliament Ruben Rubinyan, who presided over the session, accused Mkrtchyan of insulting Armenia by calling the map “scrap metal.”

“In my view, labeling this map as ‘scrap metal’ is an explicit insult to the Republic of Armenia. Ms. Mkrtchyan presented a map highlighting Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions in blue, stating that this is our homeland, which traitorous authorities have surrendered. Ms. Mkrtchyan, your political leader was president for 10 years. Does this mean he was negotiating to surrender the homeland? Serzh Sargsyan publicly stated that Armenia was prepared to withdraw from the 5+2 regions. Was he surrendering the homeland? Does that make him a traitor? Is your team a collective of traitors?” Rubinyan said.

Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan, referring to the map displayed in the hall, stated that it depicts the territory belonging to the Republic of Armenia.

On December 29, 2024, Alen Simonyan shared a photo on social media showing the map displayed in the parliamentary hall. The map, which omits Artsakh and several other Armenian regions, had previously been used in several of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s speeches to emphasize Armenia’s current territorial reality.