Armen Ishkhanyan, the son of Davit Ishkhanyan, Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Artsakh and an Armenian hostage held in Baku, accused Nikol Pashinyan of exposing the political nature of Azerbaijan’s imprisonment of Armenian captives while admitting his own government’s inaction.

Speaking to Pastinfo, Ishkhanyan said Pashinyan’s latest remarks showed that the Armenian prisoners are not being held through any lawful process, but as hostages whose fate is being tied to political rhetoric inside Armenia.

“Nikol Pashinyan today, in fact, admitted that my father is a hostage, as are the others. Nikol Pashinyan today, in effect, admitted that he is doing nothing,” Armen Ishkhanyan said.

Pashinyan had earlier claimed that statements made by members of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, the party of Davit Ishkhanyan, were affecting efforts to secure the prisoners’ release.

“They see what kind of statements Davit Ishkhanyan’s party members are making in Armenia. Of course that affects the overall process,” Pashinyan said, referring to Azerbaijan.

He also argued that if the Armenian Revolutionary Federation continues speaking about reclaiming Artsakh, Azerbaijan would question why it should release a representative of that political force.

Armen Ishkhanyan said Armenian authorities have repeatedly told the families of prisoners that they are acting according to the “do no harm” principle. But he argued that Pashinyan’s latest comments exposed the opposite.

“He admitted that they are being held in the status of hostages, perhaps even together with Aliyev,” Ishkhanyan said.

He added that the families remain in contact with human rights defenders and continue to rely on international legal mechanisms, especially since the verdicts against the unlawfully detained Armenians have still not been provided.

“As long as we have a government that does not make the return of the prisoners a natural precondition for its so-called peace, and covers up its inaction with the domestic political situation and fabricated theses, we rely on international law and continue the struggle,” Ishkhanyan said.

Davit Ishkhanyan was captured by Azerbaijani forces on October 3, 2023, following the forced displacement of Artsakh’s Armenian population. He remains among the Armenian political and military figures imprisoned in Baku.