Pashinyan excluded the operation of state institutions of Nagorno-Karabakh in Armenia.
The Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, stated that he will not allow the activities of state structures of Nagorno-Karabakh on the territory of the country. The authorities of the unrecognized republic intend to start consultations with Armenian parties, while Karabakh activists demand to legally enshrine the status of displaced persons as victims of genocide.
As reported by “Caucasian Knot”, on May 22, 2026, the Administrative Court satisfied the prosecutor's claim and recognized the registration of the property rights of the government of Nagorno-Karabakh on the building, as well as land use rights, as invalid.
Former leaders of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic have effectively lost control over the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh since the fall of 2023. After the mass exodus of residents from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia, the president of the unrecognized republic signed a decree to terminate its existence, government officials were dismissed, but senior leaders continued to work in Yerevan.
In Armenia, “there cannot be two states and two governments,” stated Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during a session of the Armenian parliament on September 16, responding to a question from a member of the “Strong Armenia” faction, Areg Ovspeyan, about the protection of the social rights of refugees and the activities of the leadership and parliament of Nagorno-Karabakh in the representation building in Yerevan.
Pashinyan reported that the building of the permanent representation of Nagorno-Karabakh in Yerevan will, by court decision, “come under the control of the Republic of Armenia.” He added that “there cannot be a structure in Armenia with the name you mentioned,” referring to the self-designation of Nagorno-Karabakh – Artsakh.
Pashinyan published a video of the session on his Facebook page*. “All attempts to form a second state, a second government, or a second parliament in the country will be suppressed by the harshest measures,” he wrote in the post.
The permanent representation of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic has been operating in Yerevan since 1997 and is located in a building on Nairi Zaryan Street, 17A. After the exodus of the Armenian population from Karabakh in September 2023, state institutions of Nagorno-Karabakh were placed there.
On September 19-20, 2023, Azerbaijan conducted large-scale military operations in Karabakh, after which an agreement was reached to cease hostilities and disarm the Karabakh Defense Army. By October 7, 2023, more than 100,000 forced migrants from Nagorno-Karabakh arrived in Armenia, and by September 2024, only 14 Armenians remained in the region. “Caucasian Knot” has prepared a report “The Beginning and End of the Unrecognized Republic of Artsakh.”
Karabakh officials intend to start political consultations with parliamentary and non-parliamentary political forces of Armenia, stated the state minister of Nagorno-Karabakh Nzhde Iskandaryan.
“After the parliamentary elections in 2026, a new political reality has formed in Armenia, which must be reflected in the attitude towards the issue of Artsakh and the further activities of its state institutions. It is important for us to understand how political forces see the further activities and cooperation with the authorities of Artsakh, what position they take on the issue of preserving the state institutions of Artsakh and protecting the rights of its people, as well as what practical steps they are ready to take. If a political force believes that this activity should be terminated, it must openly state this and take political responsibility for its position. If it comes to preserving the institutions of Artsakh and protecting the rights of its people, it is necessary to understand in what specific forms political forces are ready to cooperate,” said Iskandaryan, adding that representatives of the NKR are ready for “open political dialogue.”
“Our goal is not to predetermine anyone's position, but to hear all sides and, in the new political conditions, to form clear and responsible frameworks for cooperation. It is precisely on these questions that we expect to receive answers during the consultations,” noted the state minister.
Reaction of public figures
Political consultations on Artsakh should lead to consolidation and concrete decisions, believes a member of the Public Council of Nagorno-Karabakh Saida Poghosyan.
“Such consultations should have started long ago. They will allow identifying existing resources, opportunities, and problems, as well as creating a platform for discussion and finding concrete solutions. This process can become an important opportunity for political forces that have the experience and resources to support the National Assembly of Artsakh and facilitate its work, including in the external direction,” said Poghosyan.
According to her, today “maximum consolidation and broad political dialogue” are necessary, and consultations “will allow seeking solutions across the entire spectrum of issues – from the problem of Artsakh and the building of its representation in Yerevan to specific social and other problems that concern every Artsakh resident.”
The chairman of the NGO “Reviving Artsakh” Anastas Israelyan considers it necessary to organize open hearings in the Armenian parliament dedicated to the issue of Artsakh, the preservation of its institutions, and the problems of Karabakh Armenians.
“Defeat should not mean a renunciation of historical memory and the state institutions of Artsakh; it is necessary to ensure the continuation of this history and not to allow the issue of Artsakh and the rights of its people to disappear from the political agenda,” he stated.
According to Israelyan, activists are ready to present all the problems that currently concern refugees from Karabakh at parliamentary hearings.
“This is not only about acute social issues but also about the need for legal enshrinement of our status. Today, the official authorities refer to us as displaced persons from Karabakh, but this definition does not reflect the reasons why we were forced to leave our homes. We were forcibly displaced, escaping from the threat of destruction and genocide, and the state must give this fact a clear legal assessment. We demand to legally enshrine the status of Artsakh residents as forcibly displaced persons who became victims of genocide. This is necessary not only for restoring historical and legal justice but also for protecting our rights in the future,” he explained.
For refugees, it is fundamentally important to maintain the legal opportunity to assert their right to return. “Legally enshrined status is fundamentally important for the ability to assert the right of Artsakh residents to return to their homes. If today the fact is not properly recorded in the legal field, it will be significantly more difficult to prove later that we left Artsakh not of our own will but were forced to do so as a result of forced displacement,” added Israelyan.