"The message is very clear: in case of necessity, appropriate steps should be taken so that foreign forces do not use certain circles to create threats to Armenia’s national security," the prime minister stressed

Statements that the so-called government-in-exile of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is operating in Armenia are a threat to national security, official Yerevan does not recognize such a structure, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a cabinet meeting.

Former Nagorno-Karabakh Republic President Samvel Shahramanyan signed a decree on September 28, 2023, officially dissolving the unrecognized state effective January 1, 2024. However, he said today in an interview with the French newspaper Le Figaro that the government of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic in exile exists and is in Yerevan.

"I cannot but note that some circles, forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh, voluntarily or involuntarily take actions and steps that threaten Armenia’s national security, declare some governments in exile. I would like to state very clearly that there is a government in the Republic of Armenia and this government is sitting in this room. The message is very clear: in case of necessity, appropriate steps should be taken so that foreign forces do not use certain circles to create threats to Armenia’s national security. I would like to make it clear that there can be no government in the Republic of Armenia other than the government of the Republic of Armenia. If someone in Armenia identifies with a government, it is a matter of national security. This is not a simple statement, it is a clear message, and this message must be expressed in real life," he said.