A prominent Armenian opposition figure, Aregnaz Manukyan, argues that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan bears responsibility for the current situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. According to Manukyan, the prime minister is trying to cling to power by steering Armenia away from its traditional alliances and guiding the country toward a sphere influenced by Turkey.
Manukyan contends that on October 6, 2022, Pashinyan effectively yielded Artsakh to Azerbaijan. He points to the Prague Declaration as having opened the door for Azerbaijan to impose a blockade on Artsakh and, in his view, to pursue ethnic cleansing. He argues that once Artsakh was lost, it reflected not just a strategic setback but a betrayal, claiming that Pashinyan deliberately and consistently ceded Artsakh to Azerbaijan, a move he says undermined Armenia’s security framework.
Meanwhile, developments on the ground in the broader regional frame intensified around September. On September 19, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence announced the start of a localized anti-terror operation in Nagorno-Karabakh. The ministry described the operation as aimed at quelling large-scale provocations in the region, disarming Armenian forces, and withdrawing them from Karabakh. The following day, Baku and Karabakh reportedly reached a ceasefire with the mediation of Russian peacekeepers. The published terms included disbanding Karabakh’s armed formations and removing heavy equipment, with implementation and monitoring assigned to the Russian mission. The operation and the ceasefire helped fuel a wave of protests within Armenia, with many calling for the resignation of current officials and contributing to a large displacement crisis—more than 100,000 internally displaced persons reportedly sought refuge within Armenia. At the same time, fighting continued in the wider area across Azerbaijan.
Earlier reporting from the European Union suggested accusations of betrayal within the Karabakh Armenian community, highlighting tensions between regional powers and their Armenian allies.