Armenian premier apologizes to Nagorno-Karabakh woman for  inappropriate tone

ArmInfo.  Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan apologized to Armine Mosiyan, an internally displaced woman from Nagorno-Karabakh, and her son for the inappropriate tone of their conversation on the Yerevan metro.

The previous day, an emotional conversation took place on the Yerevan  metro between an internally displaced woman from Artsakh and Nikol  Pashinyan. Upon boarding the subway car, he offered the child a badge  with the outline of the Armenian SSR without Karabakh, which he calls  "the Real Armenia." However, the child's mother stated that they had  moved from Nagorno-Karabakh and had a different map.  The woman asked  not to be disturbed. "You didn't let us live in Artsakh (the Armenian  name for Karabakh - ed.), but you can't forbid us from hoping to  return to Artsakh," she stated.

Pashinyan, in a raised voice and wagging his finger, declared that  the Armenian authorities had done everything possible to ensure their  continued existence in Karabakh. "In 2023, you were the ones who  accused me of closing the borders to prevent people from leaving  Karabakh for Armenia. Now you've come here and say, 'Oh, but we  wanted to go back,'" the prime minister declared. He added that the  Armenian authorities "spent billions of Armenian citizens' earnings"  so that the residents of Karabakh could remain in the region. "So why  didn't you stay? And don't speak so contemptuously of this map  (referring to the badge in the shape of a map of Armenia that  Pashinyan wears on his chest - ed.). Don't try to say, you who fled,  that I surrendered Karabakh," Pashinyan said.

The woman responded by declaring, "We will not allow our hope of  returning to Artsakh to be dashed." It was later revealed that this  woman was Armine Mosyan, the daughter of Meruzhan Mosyan, a deceased  participant in the Karabakh war. The contents of the conversation  quickly spread throughout society and sparked heated discussion.

"I would like to apologize for not speaking as I should have: for my  heated conversation with a respected and dear citizen who moved from  Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. From the reactions and criticism of some  of my colleagues, I realized that my words were not entirely as  intended," the prime minister said live on air, summing up the day.

"Dear Mrs. Mosyan, I apologize to you and your son for your emotions  and hope that we will have another opportunity to meet again on the  metro or somewhere else and talk calmly. I would like this  conversation to happen, but I know you will refuse and say a few  harsh words afterward." "I humbly accept this, but if you suddenly  decide to calmly and dispassionately arrange a conversation on camera  or on the phone, know that I am at your disposal and accept this  invitation in advance. Once again, I want to ask your forgiveness. I  admit that I said something wrong, used the wrong gestures, spoke in  the wrong tone, spoke with the wrong facial expression, and in some  ways misunderstood the essence. But this topic is still one of the  most emotional for me, and I apologize to everyone," he said.