FACTOMETER
en
ру
հյ
Dozens of false and manipulative statements were made in the October 23 release of the Russian Channel One program “Puppets of Heir Tutti” referring to Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and his political activities. The Fact Investigation Platform referred to these claims.
“Pashinyan considered Nagorno-Karabakh a headache that he wanted to get rid of in order to live well”
At the beginning of the talk show, it is claimed that Pashinyan allegedly said in 2007 that “Nagorno Karabakh is a headache” and that “by handing it over, Armenia will get a road to Azerbaijan, Turkey and Iran”, “the important thing is to live well rather than have vague nationalistic ambitions.”
However, the Russian Channel One is falsifying information. Pashinyan has never made such public statements.
How did Pashinyan receive an injury in his hand?
The Russian Channel One, presenting the bandage on Pashinyan’s hand as technique used during the Velvet Revolution of 2018, expressed doubt that he was injured at all.
However, Pashinyan injured his hand on April 16, 2018, during civil disobedience actions in Baghramyan avenue, during attempts to remove barbed wire installed by the police.
Azerbaijani villages in Syunik?
Alexander Aratamonov, one of the speakers at the talk show, claims that there are “six Azerbaijani villages” in Syunik, which are claimed by Baku.
Meanwhile, outside of the propaganda circles, Baku made no official claims for the six settlements in Syunik. Baku has officially claimed the so-called enclaves located in the Tavush province of Armenia.
Even Putin’s words were twisted
Oleg Barabanov, one of guests of the show, referred to the statements of the Russian President Vladimir Putin about the Nagorno-Karabakh negotiation process in the Valdai Club. According to him, Putin said that Pashinyan refused to hand over the seven regions and said that they would fight for Karabakh.
In fact, Putin was talking about Armenia’s decades-long position, referring, among other things, to the former presidents of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan and Robert Kocharyan.
By the way, FIP.am wrote earlier that this claim of Putin is also false. At least former presidents Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan agreed to hand over regions in the 5+2 format, even without the specification of the status of Nagorno Karabakh. Azerbaijan has always been the party rejecting the solutions.
A made up story regarding the conditions to end the 44-day war
Barabanov also claimed that at the beginning of the 44-day war in 2020, an agreement was reached to stop the troops in their current positions, which was allegedly supported by Azerbaijan, but Pashinyan rejected it.
This is completely untrue. It was Azerbaijan that violated the ceasefire agreement reached in October 2020 with Russian mediation, continuing the advancement of its troops in Nagorno Karabakh.
When were “NATO troops” in Armenia?
The program host claims that before the September 2022 aggression, Pashinyan brought NATO troops to Armenia instead of CSTO troops.
In fact, there are no NATO troops in Armenia, and the EU observation mission, which the host calls NATO contingent, was deployed in Armenia after the September aggression by Azerbaijan, in the absence of support from the CSTO.
When were the Armenia-US military exercises held?
Andrey Areshev, one of the guests of the show, twists the chronology of a number of events in September 2023, claiming that, for example, the Armenian-American military exercises took place in parallel with the Azerbaijani attack in Nagorno Karabakh on September 19, when anti-government demonstrations were also taking place in Yerevan. The latter claimed that in this way the United States showed its support to Pashinyan.
The Armenian-American military exercises started on September 11, more than a week before the Azerbaijani aggression, and ended on September 20. Meanwhile, the demonstrations demanding Pashinyan’s resignation continued for about a week following September 20.
Thus, the guests of the Russian Channel One show posing as experts made manipulative and false claims, distorting the nature and causes of the events taking place around Armenia, particularly targeting the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and forming misconceptions among the audience about Armenia, the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, and regional issues.
Nane Manasyan
