YEREVAN — A total of 3,773 Armenian servicemen were killed during the 44-day war with Azerbaijan last fall, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said, presenting an official military death toll in the armed conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Speaking to lawmakers on August 24 to introduce the government’s new five-year plan, Pashinyan said that the fate of another 243 soldiers remains unknown, while some captives held in Azerbaijan have yet to return home.
“I am presenting the 2021-2026 government program in unusual conditions,” the prime minister said during debates of his administration’s 5-year action plan.
“The grave consequences of the 44-day war, our 3773 victims of the war, the fact that 243 soldiers are still missing, the fact that some of our captive soldiers haven’t yet returned, the thousands of displaced persons, the unusual and difficult social-economic state in Artsakh and Armenia, the alarming security challenges around Armenia and Artsakh, the crisis situation in the Sotk-Khoznavar section as a result of the unlawful invasion of the Azerbaijani armed forces into Armenian sovereign territory, the periodical violations of the November 9 trilateral ceasefire statement and resulting new casualties, the tense international situation, the continuing coronavirus pandemic make this environment in which we are discussing the government program unusual,” PM Pashinyan said.
He called for the discussions to be not only about problems and challenges, but also their origins and causes, and most importantly solutions, because right now Armenia is standing at a turning point and its further course is going to be fateful for its future.
