Six months after the formation of Artsakh’s government-in-exile, Pashinyan deemed the move a threat to Armenia’s national security and urged Armenia’s National Security Service to take action. Following the forced displacement of the Artsakh people in 2023, the Artsakh government reorganized itself in Armenia as a government-in-exile due to persecution and ethnic cleansing by Azerbaijan.
In an indirect response to Artsakh President Samvel Shahramanyan’s recent interview with the French newspaper “Le Figaro,” where he discussed the government-in-exile, Pashinyan called for Armenia’s NSS to intervene against the Artsakh government during a government meeting.
“I cannot overlook the fact that some circles among the forcibly displaced people from Nagorno-Karabakh [Artsakh] are taking actions and steps that pose a threat to Armenia’s national security by claiming to be exiled governments.” “In case of necessity, steps should also be taken to prevent foreign powers from using them to threaten the Republic of Armenia.
This is a question that requires an answer. I am not ready to draw any conclusions on this topic today, but I want to clearly state that in the Republic of Armenia, there can be no government other than the Republic of Armenia government. If any individual attempts to present themselves as a government, it becomes an issue for the National Security Service of Armenia, and I hope that the existence of this issue is not due to the failure of our governmental bodies to carry out their work.”