Pashinyan: new approach to the Karabakh issue?

• Main Author: Anna Ayvazyan
• Format: Article
• Language: Russian
• Published: Institute of Europe Russian Academy of Sciences 2019-06-01
• Series: Научно-аналитический вестник Института Европы РАН
• Subjects: armenia; azerbaijan; nagorno karabakh; pashinyan; negotiations process
• Online Access: http://vestnikieran.instituteofeurope.ru/images/Aivazyan320191.pdf

In January 2019 Nikol Pashinyan has become the prime-minister of Armenia. This was preceded by mass protests that started in April 2018 and were directed against the Republican Party of Armenia. Nikol Pashinyan was the leader of the opposition movement: his appearance as a political figure symbolises a change in the political elite that has been dominating political process for the last decade. The article analyses the position of Pashinyan on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, being one of the key issues in the Armenian external policy. Conclusion is made that Pashinyan’s policy is unlikely to bring to substantial change in negotiations. Nevertheless, it could provoke a more open discussion on Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) in the Armenian society, being one of the key questions driving the inner political process.