Pashinyan's position on returning to Karabakh coincided with the opinion of Azerbaijani social media users

Azerbaijani social media users, commenting on the Karabakh parliamentarians' statement about fighting to return to their homeland, called it unrealistic. The Armenian Prime Minister expressed a similar opinion, also suggesting that Baku close the issue of Western Azerbaijan.

As reported by the " Caucasian Knot ," members of parliament of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic declared their intention to fight for collective return on the anniversary of the independence referendum . Participants in the hearings noted that the Armenian authorities are actively distancing themselves from the issue, encouraging refugees to disperse around the world. 

A post about the Karabakh parliamentarians' statement was shared on the Caucasian Knot Facebook page*, which has 159,000 subscribers, and had garnered 502 comments by 12:20 p.m. Moscow time.

Some users expressed the opinion that the return of Karabakh Armenians to their homeland is inevitable.

"The people of Artsakh will return! Whether anyone likes it or not, it's a matter of time," commented Esmeralda Gabrielyan .

"Under the Soviet Union, Karabakh was an autonomous region where only Armenians lived, and they have the right to live there and have their own status," says Arojan Arojan .

"Returning today is a matter of illusory politics, not real politics. I'm sure people will return home, but not now and not by force," Igor S. commented on the publication on the "Caucasian Knot" website .

Most of the comments left by users with Azerbaijani surnames on Facebook* boil down to the fact that if the return of Karabakh Armenians is possible, it will only be under certain conditions.

"Those who left Karabakh are all citizens of Armenia. Let them live there," Nigyar Babazade pointed out .

Forget about negotiations. Forget about a "collective return."

“You will return here only when the Azerbaijanis return to Western Azerbaijan,” says Vazekh Rahimov .

"Forget about the principles of self-determination, since the Armenian people have already self-determined; they have the Republic of Armenia. Forget about negotiations. Forget about 'collective return.' In short, forget Karabakh! Don't torture yourself," noted Rovshan Guliev .

"You can return, but only under Azerbaijani citizenship. And not everyone will. There won't be any international forces there. Don't get your hopes up! Azerbaijani laws, Azerbaijani flag, and Azerbaijani anthem," Olga Samedova commented .

Pashinyan proposed closing the issues of Armenians' return to Karabakh and "Western Azerbaijan"

Commenting on Azerbaijan's reaction to the new partnership document between Armenia and the EU, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan pointed out that, on the one hand, Baku speaks of "Western Azerbaijan," while on the other, the document mentions Karabakh Armenians, etc., Armenpress reported.

He recalled that he had previously stated that the issue of return was "very dangerous" and that the return of Armenians to Nagorno-Karabakh was unrealistic. "Now I want to publicly make a proposal to Azerbaijan. <…> I propose that we adopt a roadmap for the parallel resolution of these two issues," Pashinyan stated, adding that eliminating these issues would eliminate any potential conflict.

"If we continue the return agenda, it means we'll restart the Karabakh movement. And I've stated that we shouldn't continue the Karabakh movement. It's over, and attempts to restart it are pointless," he said.

According to Pashinyan, on the other hand, Armenia sees Azerbaijan constantly using "incomprehensible terminology" regarding "Western Azerbaijan." "What Western Azerbaijan? I said there can be no Western Azerbaijan in the Republic of Armenia," the prime minister added. Addressing Armenia's claims that the Karabakh issue remains unresolved, he emphasized that its continuation means "a new war, new victims, new hardships, and a blockade with unpredictable consequences."