Ethnic Cleansing of Karabakh Armenians Will be Completed in Coming Days: PM Pashinyan

YEREVAN — There will be no more Armenians left in Nagorno-Karabakh in the coming days, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a government session, citing the latest numbers of Karabakh residents who have crossed into Armenia after September 19 Azerbaijani military offensive.

Pashinyan’s spokeswoman, Nazeli Baghdasaryan, said that a total of 76,407 people had entered Armenia from Nagorno-Karabakh as of 8 p.m. local time on September 28, amounting to more than half of the region’s estimated 120,000 inhabitants.

“The exodus of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians as a result of the ethnic cleansing policy implemented by Azerbaijan continues. This is an act of de-patriation, something we have been telling the international community for a long time,” Pashinyan said.

He emphasized the importance of statements condemning the ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh by various international players. However, he added that the statements should be followed by concrete actions.

“This is a direct act of ethnic cleansing that we warned the international community about,” Pashinyan told the government meeting calling for concrete action by the international community.

“Statements condemning ethnic cleansing by various international players are important, but if they are not followed by concrete actions, these statements will be seen as creating moral statistics for history, so that in future different countries will have the opportunity to formally dissociate themselves from this crime, saying we have condemned it,” said Pashinyan.

“As far as the Armenian government is concerned, today we should first of all, if possible, carefully welcome our brothers and sisters forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh and provide them with the most necessary things,” he said.