Pashinyan did not "announce" the handover of the Azerbaijani serviceman to Baku; manipulative coverage in the press. FIP
07-10-2026 16:11 Armenia Press of Diaspora
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Several Armenian media outlets have commented on Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's statements regarding the Azerbaijani serviceman Nasimi Musaev, who crossed the Armenia-Azerbaijan border and is accused of a crime, during an interview on the "Ctrl Z" program; they claimed that he hinted at handing him over to Baku.
In particular, Pashinyan's words about the agreement of the parties to return lost soldiers unconditionally were presented in such a way that this principle also applies to the Azerbaijani serviceman undergoing criminal proceedings in Armenia.
By taking Pashinyan's words out of context, several media outlets have made such claims:
At the same time, Marianna Ghahramanyan, a member of the "Strong Armenia" faction in the National Assembly, also insisted that Pashinyan is "announcing that the Azerbaijani will be handed over to Baku without exchanging him for the Armenian captives held there."
The "Fact-Checking Platform" has compared Pashinyan's direct statements on the topic with the claims made by media outlets and on social media, and found that their coverage is manipulative.
What principle was Pashinyan talking about?
Thus, in response to the host's question about whether the issue of exchanging Musaev for the Armenian captives held in Baku is being discussed, Pashinyan answers that these are "different topics," and reminds of the previously reached agreement:
"These are different topics because there have been similar situations before, because we have an agreement that the processes of soldiers crossing over will be viewed separately from all cases," Pashinyan said.
He then explains the logic of this principle: if each soldier who crosses the border is demanded in exchange for a captive from the other side, the same condition could later be applied to Armenia as well.
"Let's say we are told to give a captive in exchange for this soldier. Tomorrow, a soldier might cross over from our side; who are we going to give?" Pashinyan said.
In other words, the discussion is about a general mechanism for the return of soldiers who have crossed the border, including lost and non-offending servicemen.
Pashinyan himself distinguishes the case of Musaev
In the interview, the journalist draws Pashinyan's attention to this very distinction, noting that the Shaki incident is not a regular border crossing since the serviceman has also allegedly committed a crime.
Pashinyan agrees that the question is different here, stating that a serviceman who commits a crime should be prosecuted.
Moreover, when it comes to the criminal case opened against Musaev in Armenia, Pashinyan declares that the legal process will take place in Armenia, the serviceman is in custody, and will "remain in Armenia for at least some time."
Pashinyan clearly separates the two topics: when discussing the return of soldiers, he presents the principle, not the decision regarding the specific case of Shaki.
Conclusion
Thus, the press, as well as the member of "Strong Armenia," draw manipulative conclusions based on the general mechanism described by Pashinyan.
His statements confirm that there is a specific principle for separating the return of soldiers who have crossed the border from the issue of captives between the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides. At the same time, it also explains the reason for this: if Armenia demands a captive in exchange for returning a lost Azerbaijani soldier who has committed no crime, then Azerbaijan could later impose the same condition for the return of an Armenian soldier who finds himself there.
However, it does not follow that the same mechanism has already been decided to be applied to Musaev; on the contrary, in the interview, Pashinyan distinguishes between the two situations. One case concerns the return of a soldier who has crossed the border and committed no crime, while the other involves a person subject to criminal prosecution in Armenia, who is accused of causing harm to an Armenian citizen.
