On 13 November, anti-government protests in the Armenian capital of Yerevan continued, following the signing of the agreement on Nagorno-Karabakh between the country’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. Speakers at a rally in Yerevan accused Pashinyan of handing over Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan. They said he must resign as soon as possible so that some points of the document could be renegotiated. 

It was reported that a lawmaker representing Pashinyan’s ruling My Step faction in the parliament, Vardan Atabekyan, quit his post as a My Step lawmaker due to the signing of the agreement. Atabekyan said that he would not give up his mandate and would continue to serve as a member of parliament not affiliated with any faction. “In my further activities I will focus on efforts to quit the current situation with as few losses as possible and solve problems of Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh,” he stated. The spokesperson of Armenia’s Defence Ministry Artsrun Hovhannisyan also resigned from his post, saying that he was confident in the victory of the Armenian forces in the war.

The leader of the Fatherland (Hayrenik) opposition party in Armenia Artur Vanetsyan was released from custody, following his arrest for conducting rallies, which are in violation of the still ongoing martial law (Caucasus Watch reported). “Traitor Nikol who treacherously handed over Nagorno-Karabakh arrested a number of opposition leaders fighting against the signed dirty document. I assure that with these treacherous arrests it will be impossible to silence us, the traitor must leave. Both from jail and in freedom, [I will personally] continue the uncompromising fight against the implementation of this treacherous document,” he said prior to being released. He also urged people not to lose hope, to consolidate and continue the joint fight for the dignity of the nation. The representatives Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) stated that all the roads towards capital Yerevan were closed so people not attend the opposition parties’ rally.

Meanwhile, the de facto President of Nagorno-Karabakh Arayik Harutunyan said that he appealed to Pashinyan with a request to make efforts to end the hostilities. He also emphasised that the Armenian citizens who lost their homes as a result of the war will be settled mainly in the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh Stepanakert/Khankandi. The Armenian affiliation of Radio Free Europe reported that the road leading from Kalbajar to the Armenian town of Vardenis is currently full of trucks as thousands of Armenians who have lived in the district for decades are trying to move their belongings to Armenia. Correspondents of the media agency witnessed local residents dismantling roofs, doors and whatever else they could from their houses to take with them to Armenia. Also, videos appeared on social media showing the Armenian population of the Aghdam and Lachin, as well as the Kalbajar regions were burning their houses before leaving.

The country’s President Armen Sarkissian stated while meeting with the Armenian representatives of culture, sports and non-governmental organisations that Armenia needs to return as soon as possible to the OSCE Minsk Group format of negotiations. "This is not the Minsk process, this is a trilateral document, a truce statement. The vision for resolving the issue is the following - to return to negotiations on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. But this is not enough. For these negotiations to be successful, strong and powerful Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia and the Armenian people must stand behind them,” he said.

French President Emmanuel Macron held a telephone conversation with Pashinyan expressing his content in regard to the ceasefire regime, reiterating his friendship with Armenia and also stating his readiness to find a just and lasting political solution for the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, which will be acceptable for all parties involved. 

The spokesperson of Russia’s President Putin, Dmitry Peskov. commented on the accusations from some Armenian political circles that “Russia has betrayed Armenia in the war.” “The accusation that Russia allegedly did not support Armenia enough is absolutely baseless. Russia has never abandoned its commitments as part of the Collective Security Treaty Organization. Had anyone attacked Armenia, Russia would do everything to protect its ally,” he said. Peskov also stressed that Russia simply did not have the right to send troops to Nagorno-Karabakh, as it would be against international law.