Kristine Vardanyan, an MP from the Armenia parliamentary faction, responded to recent debates around the Torch March in a Facebook post, claiming that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's true fear lies not with external enemies but with his own citizens.

She added that “previously, Ankara and Baku reacted this way to the Torch March. Now it’s ‘official’ Yerevan.”

“There could be no clearer proof of our claim that Pashinyan is committed to fighting not the enemy, but those who defend Armenian interests,” she wrote.

“In the past, this is how Ankara and Baku responded to the Torch March. Today—‘official’ Yerevan. One can only wonder: for the past month, why were there shootings in the same area? Was it also because of the Torch March? Will you now ban such events altogether?”

Addressing the flag burning, she noted, “It’s a symbolic political act. In hundreds of countries, people burn the symbols of dictators and genocidal regimes as a sign of protest. You may disagree with the form, but to equate it with Aliyev’s gunfire is to openly side with the enemy. Nothing more.”

“If you reacted to violations of our borders with the same fervor as you do to flag burning, Azerbaijan might behave more cautiously.”

She warned that the most dangerous part of this reaction lies elsewhere: “The public’s participation in the Torch March showed a clear rejection of the government’s denialist policy. Now, Pashinyan must explain himself to his partners while simultaneously threatening our people that if such events recur, he will coordinate a new attack on Armenia with Aliyev.”

“This statement reveals Pashinyan’s political direction: to suppress his own people, oppose them, and justify any hostile action. The threat he senses is not from Azerbaijan or Turkey, but from his own nation,” she concluded.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan condemned the burning of Azerbaijani and Turkish flags. His spokesperson Nazeli Baghdasaryan called the act irresponsible and unacceptable. On April 23, the traditional Torch March took place in Yerevan under the slogan Never Deny. Before the march began, participants burned the flags of Turkey and Azerbaijan in protest against genocide denial.