Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan made a statement on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of Armenia’s Declaration of Independence, the local service of Radio Liberty reports.
According to Pashinyan, the document containing Armenia’s claims to the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh was based on the model of patriotism introduced by the Soviet government. The Armenian Prime Minister said that Armenia has achieved real independence only now, after reaching peace agreements with Azerbaijan and renouncing claims to Karabakh.
The Declaration of Independence of Armenia was adopted by the Supreme Soviet of the Armenian SSR on 23 August 1990. The document provided for renaming the republic, which was part of the USSR, into the Republic of Armenia and its proclamation as an independent state and a subject of international law. At the same time, the text does not mention Armenia’s withdrawal from the USSR – the republic left the Union in connection with its collapse in December 1991.
The declaration also speaks of the “reunification of the Armenian SSR and Nagorno-Karabakh”, although Karabakh is not explicitly declared Armenian.
According to Pashinyan, the provisions of the Declaration “expressed the collective sentiments of the political and intellectual elite in Armenia at the time of its adoption”. These sentiments, in turn, were based on “the model of patriotism that the Soviet Union formed for us Armenians”. According to Pashinyan, this patriotism was directed outwards, not at the territory of Armenia itself, and its consequence was the claim to the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh (in Soviet times an autonomous region that was part of the Azerbaijani SSR, with a predominantly Armenian population).
The so-called Karabakh Movement, whose activities led in 1988 to a demand to hand over Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia, after which a bloody conflict broke out in the region. According to Pashinyan, this reflected the inherent “sociopsychology” of Armenian society imposed by the Soviet authorities.
The result of the movement’s activities, according to the prime minister, was “the strategic impossibility of the existence of an independent Armenian state, because a country that exists in the context of an external conflict cannot build real independence.” Pashinyan said he has become convinced that it would be disastrous for the country to continue the Karabakh movement.
Pashinyan noted that Armenia’s policies under his leadership in recent years have made peace with Azerbaijan and the beginning of a real dialogue with Turkey possible.
“The Republic of Armenia is now more independent than ever,” Pashinyan concluded, noting that August 2025 was the beginning of a time of peace and prosperity for the country.
Russia is not mentioned in his address.
In 2023, Azerbaijan finally took control of the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, which it had not controlled for more than 30 years. The Armenian population left the region.