By using name Kyarki, I neutralised last potential trigger for escalation – Pashinyan

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said that by using the name Kyarki, he neutralised the last potential trigger for escalation.

Pashinyan made the remarks during the National Assembly-Government question-and-answer session, responding to a question from Aram Vardevanyan, an MP from the Strong Armenia faction.

Vardevanyan asked why the Armenian Prime Minister uses the name Kyarki when referring to Tigranashen, while no equivalent statements concerning Artsvashen have been made by the Azerbaijani side.

According to the Prime Minister, the purpose of this step was to neutralise a potential trigger for escalation.

“I repeat: by saying Kyarki, I did not call it Kyarki to please Azerbaijan. By saying Kyarki, I neutralised the last potential trigger for escalation, which forces inside and outside Armenia were clearly going to start using.

“Now that is no longer there. Fine, I will come here and answer dozens of questions: why Kyarki, why did you say it, and so on. That is normal; I will answer. Ask me a thousand times, ask tough questions, ask questions reproachfully, but I have accomplished my task. What is that task? The last possibility of escalation has been neutralised,” Pashinyan said.