Pashinyan says Karabakh 'was not ours' as Armenia and Azerbaijan look to future. #Euronews

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stunned the Armenian society inside and outside the country with a passionate statement over the weekend, declaring that Karabakh was not Armenian and that Armenia’s "Karabakh movement was a fatal mistake for us."

In an electrifying video widely circulated by the Armenian media on Sunday, Pashinyan is seen confronting accusations that Armenia “lost” Karabakh by asking repeatedly, “How was that land ours? How was it ours? Please explain how it was ours?"

Countering decades of prior Armenian national narrative regarding Karabakh, the Armenian prime minister said, “I don't want to speak behind dead people's backs, but let's say under the control of a few generals who planted wheat there for instance, let's say, was that it? How was it ours? How? Explain it, how was it?"

"Did we build a school there, did we build a kindergarten, did we build a factory, did we live there, a settlement... How was it ours? It was not ours. It was not ours," Pashinyan emphasised.

In his passionate speech, the Armenian prime minister underlined his decision to continue unabated the historic peace process with Azerbaijan after decades of tragedies over Karabakh.
Pashinyan’s startling statement comes just days after the historic European Political Community (EPC) conference and the EU-Armenia summit, which underscored Armenia’s message to the world — and especially to Russia — that it has now decisively embarked on a pro-European course as it forges peace with Azerbaijan after decades of conflict.

With the June elections looming in Armenia, Pashinyan’s extraordinary statement sets out his government’s position: the country is now decisively looking towards a pro-EU future in a South Caucasus peace that is already bringing strong economic opportunities for Armenia, Azerbaijan and the region.