Armenia 'gained opportunity' to have independent, sovereign state after Karabakh defeat: Premier

“I can say that having suffered defeat, we gained the opportunity to have an independent and sovereign state,” Nikol Pashinyan said during a meeting in Washington, DC on Monday with representatives of the Armenian community in the US, according to the Russian state news agency TASS, citing the press service of Armenia’s Cabinet of Ministers.

Arguing that there is a lot of negativity toward Armenia in the South Caucasus "due to certain circumstances,” Pashinyan said it is very important for Yerevan to be able to deal with this negativity.

“We are doing the right thing by trying to cope with this negativity without emotions, in the most effective ways,” he further said.

Pashinyan arrived in the US on a working visit on Monday, during which he is expected to hold a number of meetings until the end of his visit on Feb. 7.

Relations between Baku and Yerevan have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Karabakh – a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan – and seven adjacent regions.

Most of the territory was liberated by Azerbaijan during a 44-day war in the fall of 2020, which ended after a Russian-brokered peace agreement that opened the door to ongoing normalization and demarcation talks.

In September 2023, Azerbaijan established full sovereignty in Karabakh after separatist forces in the region surrendered.​​​​​​​