Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has weighed in on the Azerbaijani aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh and the forced displacement of Armenians, saying that "some people" pretend that they do not understand why Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians left their homes en masse, which he said was "cynical".

Pashinyan made the remarks at the European Parliament on Tuesday, October 17, maintaining that Azerbaijan had clearly demonstrated its decision to make the life of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh impossible.

"At the UN Security Council, we initiated 3 discussions related to the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, but they did not yield any practical results, and now Nagorno-Karabakh is depopulated. More than 100,000 Armenians left Nagorno-Karabakh in 1 week due to the inactivity of the Russian peacekeeping troops. Another 20,000 were forced to leave Nagorno-Karabakh immediately after the 44-day war, and some did not get to return to Nagorno-Karabakh due to the illegal blocking of the Lachin Corridor," he said.

The Prime Minister also noted that at the time when hundreds of thousands of Armenians were fleeing from Artsakh to Armenia, the country's security allies "not only did not help, but also made public calls to overthrow the government."

On September 19, Azerbaijan launched a military offensive against Nagorno-Karabakh, which left hundreds of Armenians killed and thousands of others displaced. On September 20, the authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh agreed to a ceasefire on Azerbaijan’s terms, including the dissolution of the Defense Army. On September 18, President of the Republic of Artsakh Samvel Shahramanyan signed a decree, according to which the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) will cease to exist by January 1, 2024. Over 100,000 displaced residents have already fled Nagorno-Karabakh and reached Armenia.