Armenian FM justifies all of Azerbaijan`s crimes at PACE under  pretext of presence of certain `enemies of freedom` in Armenia 

ArmInfo.  Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan's speech at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) can only be described in one word: disgusting. Artur Khachatryan, a member of the Armenian National Assembly from the opposition "Armenia" faction, wrote this on his Facebook page, reacting to Mirzoyan's speech on January 28 at the  Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) session in  Strasbourg.

The MP recalled that during the session, the Armenian Foreign  Minister stated that certain "enemies of freedom" are seeking to  return the country to an era of authoritarianism, endless conflicts,  and weak sovereignty. "Because, according to his own words, the  Armenians of Artsakh coexisted peacefully with the Azerbaijanis until  these very 'enemies of freedom' appeared and destroyed these good  relations. It turns out that it wasn't the Azerbaijanis who  depopulated Nakhichevan, that they weren't involved in the ethnic  cleansing in Artsakh, that they created unbearable living conditions  for the people of Artsakh, forcing them to leave their homelands, and  that they weren't the ones who discriminated against them," the  opposition figure recalled.

Khachatryan continued that Mirzoyan believes the Azerbaijani  authorities are good, and that they didn't organize the massacres in  Sumgait and Baku, impose a blockade in Armenia and Artsakh, or start  a war against Armenians-all of this, he said, is the work of the  "enemies of freedom." "The most unsuccessful foreign minister in the  history of Armenia has come to an epochal conclusion, surpassing even  his 'boss.' Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, with an innocent  expression, claims that he is responsible, but not guilty. Ararat  Mirzoyan, however, went even further: according to his version,  Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev is also not to blame-only the  'enemies of freedom' are to blame. And in this context, Turkey cannot  be ignored. Recep Tayyip Erdogan presented Pashinyan with a book, and  the Armenian-Turkish conflict was also a consequence of the actions  of these 'enemies,'" the MP added.

However, as Khachatryan noted, this was the only thing that  displeased the Armenian Foreign Minister. The opposition leader  recalled that during his speech, Mirzoyan also stated that the  'enemies of freedom' seek to use democratic mechanisms and  instruments to undermine this same democracy. In other words, as  Khachatryan explained, these enemies will try to remove the ruling  Civil Contract party from power through elections, and therefore it  is not worthwhile. React harshly if the "fighters" for freedom,  sovereignty, and democracy manipulate the elections, limit the  participation of certain political forces, or interfere with the work  of the observation mission and the media.

"Do you think they'll fight for democracy with white gloves? For the  sake of 'democracy,' they might have to wield the steel hammer given  to them by the people. And that's precisely what their democracy  represents; it's no wonder Armenia is a 'stronghold' of democracy.  Machiavellianism in action." "By the way, Ararat Mirzoyan never said  who these vile enemies of freedom are," the MP concluded.

As a reminder, from the podium of the Parliamentary Assembly of the  Council of Europe (PACE), the Armenian Foreign Minister stated that  they expect an increase in hybrid attacks in the run-up to the  country's parliamentary elections scheduled for June 7, 2026.  At the  same time, responding to a question from a European MP about whether  Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's anti-church campaign  contradicts democratic principles, Mirzoyan stated that this was  nothing more than gossip.