Armenian Prime Minister's Statements on Peace Process with Azerbaijan Spark Protests in Yerevan

Following the statements of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan regarding the peace process with Azerbaijan, protesters in Yerevan called for his resignation. On Wednesday, June 13, Pashinyan stated that the peace treaty with Azerbaijan is nearing completion, but Yerevan will not accept Baku's demands to change Armenia's constitution. The protests on Wednesday came after recent demonstrations condemning Pashinyan's policies, including the return of destroyed villages to Azerbaijan. According to reports and video footage cited by Reuters, police used sound bombs to disperse protesters around the parliament. Reports indicated that protesters were dispersed after attempting to move towards the building. Police officials, quoting Russian news agencies, reported that seventeen police officers were injured. The Armenian Ministry of Internal Affairs stated that 79 civilians were injured and 98 were arrested. The Armenian service of Radio Free Europe reported that the leader of the protesters, Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, stated at the rally that he seeks to meet with Pashinyan to discuss the 'conditions for his peaceful resignation.' The Armenian news site CivilNet quoted Pashinyan as saying that the draft treaty with Azerbaijan is 'fully ready' and can be signed after 'adjustments.' Both Armenia and Azerbaijan have repeatedly expressed their intention to sign a peace agreement aimed at ending one of the longest conflicts among the former Soviet republics over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which lasted from late 1987 to late 1994. Azerbaijan regained control of Nagorno-Karabakh last September, effectively ending the region's de facto independence and forcing its entire ethnic Armenian population to flee to Armenia. Since then, the two countries have been negotiating a peace treaty and determining their common 1,000-kilometer border, which is now closed and heavily militarized. According to Reuters, after months of stalled negotiations, Armenia last month removed a major obstacle in the negotiations by handing over four villages to Azerbaijan that it had controlled. However, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev called for a change to Armenia's constitution to remove any indirect reference to the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh, labeling it a prerequisite for a peace agreement. CivilNet quoted Pashinyan on Wednesday stating that while Azerbaijan still describes the prospects for a peace agreement as good, its insistence on constitutional amendments indicates an effort to 'destroy' the peace process. The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense announced that the withdrawal of Russian peacekeeping forces, which had been stationed in Nagorno-Karabakh following the 44-day war between Azerbaijan and Armenia in 2020, would be completed on Wednesday. Armenia has criticized Russia for its lack of intervention and failure to prevent Azerbaijan's recapture of Nagorno-Karabakh. Pashinyan also told parliament members that he feels Russia has not fulfilled its obligations, and therefore Armenia is determined to withdraw from the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization, composed of former Soviet countries. The United States and European Union member states emphasized their continued support for Armenia regarding the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region during a meeting with Pashinyan in Brussels on Friday, April 6. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated, 'We are committed to further increasing our support for Armenia's democratic and economic resilience.' He added, 'We will continue to support the 100,000 Armenians who were displaced from the Nagorno-Karabakh region. This is central to Armenia's long-term stability.'