Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Thursday slammed the leadership of Artsakh and warned that statements being made by some individuals pose a threat to Armenia’s security.
Pashinyan was referring to Artsakh President Samvel Shahramanian, who in an interview with the French Le Figaro newspaper, said he and his government, as well as other Artsakh administrative, judicial and legal institutions are functioning in Armenia, “in exile.”
“A group of forcibly displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh, willingly or unwillingly, are taking actions and steps that create a threat to Armenia’s national security, by announcing some governments in exile,” Pashinyan said at the start of his cabinet meeting on Thursday.
“I want to state very clearly that there is one government in Armenia, and that government is sitting in this hall. And I want all of us to record this message very clearly, and if necessary, appropriate steps should be taken and appropriate measures should be taken so that external forces also do not use certain circles to create threats to Armenia’s security,” Pashinyan added.
“I want to clearly state that there can be no other government in Armenia except the government of Armenia,” Pashinyan said.
“If anyone in Armenia identifies themselves as a government, it is a national security issue of Armenia, and I hope that the existence of that issue does not mean that our bodies have failed in their responsibilities,” the prime minister said, adding that the individuals who are making such statements “had the opportunity to carry out those duties.., and we have seen what they did with that opportunity.”
