On September 13, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan gave an interview to POLITICO Europe, the Press Office of the Armenian Prime Minister reported. 

Regarding military escalation along the border, Pashinyan said, "Azerbaijan has started the accumulation of forces along the border of the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Armenia shall also take certain measures in order to defend itself. But I think that the EU civilian monitoring mission in the Republic of Armenia, which is conducting a monitoring mission along the border, they can record that the Republic of Armenia has no intention for escalation, and it’s Azerbaijan that has started to bring its central forces towards the border with Armenia and also the entire line of contact with Nagorno Karabakh."

"Our agreement with Azerbaijan is that Armenia and Azerbaijan, as I said, mutually recognize each other's territorial integrity: 29.800 km² and 86.600 km². After this agreement, in a press conference in Yerevan, I was asked by a journalist if the 86.600 km² of Azerbaijan includes Nagorno Karabakh, I answered yes, it also includes Nagorno Karabakh. But I also want to say that this does not mean at all that we give Azerbaijan the mandate to carry out ethnic cleansing or genocide against the people of Nagorno Karabakh. This is the reason that part of this agreement is establishing mechanisms to address the rights and security of Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh, and especially to build a reliable and meaningful Baku-Stepanakert dialogue," he said.

About controversies with CSTO and the recent visit of his wife to Kyiv, the Armenian leader noted, "As for Ukraine, what happened is a humanitarian step, there is no need to politicize that because if anyone thinks that at any point we have been indifferent to any human tragedy, or we had any political calculations to express sympathy for human tragedy, this is not the right approach." He said: "When it comes to our relations with Russia and the CSTO, here we are fully transparent. What are the problems? What are the issues there? We have spoken about this and will continue to speak both publicly and at the working level. This conversation, of course, is contingent on the state interest of the Republic of Armenia. The state interests of Armenia guide us. Therefore, I do not want, and it cannot be so, that Armenia is viewed in the role of a proxy. Indeed, the Republic of Armenia has very serious security challenges, but we see the addressing of the security challenges through strengthening our sovereignty, our independence."

On the ineffectiveness of Russian peacekeeping in Karabakh, Pashinyan emphasized, "You know, I think both factors could have a certain role because, as a result of the events in Ukraine, the capabilities of Russia have changed. You know it is obvious that after November 9, 2020, the security situation has sharply changed in Nagorno Karabakh: violations of the line of contact and invasions into the territory of Nagorno Karabakh. We have had a case when a person doing agricultural work was killed by an Azerbaijani sniper in the presence of a Russian peacekeeper."

Moreover, during government hours in parliament on September 13, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan reiterated that Armenia is interested in opening all regional communications, but not to the detriment of the republic's sovereignty. According to the prime minister, Armenia is not against the restart of the Horadiz-Meghri-Ordubad-Yeraskh railway. "Azerbaijani officials often use the term Zangezur Corridor, understanding the sensitivity for the Armenian side and in order to form the context of territorial claims against Armenia. In this sense, the corridor logic is unacceptable and is a red line for Yerevan," Pashinyan emphasized. The head of government added that the country's authorities are ready to launch regional communications, recalling that the government's agenda remains the decision to open three checkpoints on the border areas: one is supposed to be opened on the border with Nakhichevan, two on the eastern sections of the border with Azerbaijan.

Furthermore, Pashinyan stated that he judges the level and quality of Armenian-Russian relations based on statements by President Vladimir Putin. In this regard, the Prime Minister noted that he was following the statements of the head of the Russian state, who had previously indicated that there were no problems either between countries or at the level of leaders. According to Pashinyan, he has had 7-8 telephone conversations with the Russian President since Azerbaijan's blockade of the Lachin corridor. Pashinyan emphasized that the Russian leader is very well aware of everything, including being able to receive first-hand information about the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh through the Russian peacekeeping contingent in the region.

The head of government added that the country's authorities are ready to launch regional communications, recalling that the government's agenda remains the decision to open three checkpoints on the border areas: one is supposed to be opened on the border with Nakhchivan, two on the eastern sections of the border with Azerbaijan.