Pashinyan on POWs, 2018 Revolution, and Foreign Support

During a briefing with journalists, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan addressed both current challenges and key, yet previously undisclosed, episodes from 2018, presenting the situation from his perspective.

First addressing one of the most painful topics, the issue of prisoners of war, the Prime Minister assured that daily work is being done in this direction. However, he directly linked the final resolution of the issue to the establishment of lasting peace in the region, formulating his government's position. "I believe that if there is peace, all other issues will be resolved," Pashinyan emphasized, implying that the process of returning the prisoners could see significant progress after the signing of a peace treaty.

Then, turning to the events of 2018, Nikol Pashinyan shared noteworthy details. He recounted that during the most intense days of the movement, he had a meeting with foreign ambassadors. According to the Prime Minister, the diplomatic representatives expressed their readiness to support him. "They said, 'We can support you,' and I said, 'That is unacceptable to me,'" Pashinyan stated, stressing that the revolution was exclusively an expression of the will of the Armenian people, without any external interference.

He revealed interesting details about his contacts with the authorities of that time. Pashinyan detailed that Karen Karapetyan visited him and conveyed an offer on behalf of Serzh Sargsyan. "Karen Karapetyan came and spoke on behalf of Serzh Sargsyan, saying that they would release me and the revolutionary process would not continue. I said that was out of the question," he recounted.

The Prime Minister also categorically denied the circulating rumors that he was allegedly offered the post of deputy prime minister. "And there was no conversation at all about the post of deputy prime minister," Pashinyan assured.