In an animated speech, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan called for a fundamental reset in the way Armenians and Azerbaijanis perceive one another,  urging both nations to move beyond Cold War-era mentalities that, he says, continue to define their relationship more than three decades after the fall of the Soviet Union.

In comments reported by JAM News on October 31, Pashinyan said the peoples of Armenia and Azerbaijan are still trapped in mutual mistrust and “eternal enemy” narratives that reflect outdated geopolitical constructs.

“We must free ourselves from a worldview imposed on us by Soviet KGB agents,” Pashinyan said.
“The stereotypes Armenians have about Azerbaijanis, and those Azerbaijanis have about Armenians, are mirror images of each other.”

The remarks come amid ongoing efforts to normalise relations between Yerevan and Baku following Azerbaijan’s military takeover of Nagorno-Karabakh in an “anti-terrorist operation” in the enclave in September 2023. The swift and decisive Azeri operation brought an end to three decades of de facto Armenian control in the region and triggered the mass exodus of over 100,000 ethnic Armenians to Armenia.

Pashinyan has since shifted the country’s strategic posture, arguing that Armenia’s future lies in peaceful coexistence with its neighbours and closer alignment with the West, even as domestic political opponents accuse him of capitulating to Azerbaijani demands and abandoning Armenia’s traditional security reliance on Russia.

Speaking in Yerevan last week, Pashinyan framed the current crisis not just as a territorial or diplomatic challenge, but as an existential one rooted in historical trauma and geopolitical manipulation.

“We must change the content of our own identity, because the content of this identity was formed in the corridors of the KGB,” he said, referring to the Soviet security service widely seen as instrumental in shaping ethno-political narratives across the USSR.

While Pashinyan, formerly a liberal journalist, has previously blamed Russia for failing to protect Armenian interests during the 2020 war and again in 2023, his latest remarks reflect a deeper cultural critique, targeting the psychological and ideological legacies of Soviet governance that still influence policymaking and public opinion in both Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Analysts say the prime minister’s rhetoric marks a further step in Armenia’s estrangement from Moscow and an attempt to reframe the narrative around regional reconciliation.

“This is not just about peace with Azerbaijan; it’s about redefining Armenian statehood in a post-Soviet context,” said Richard Giragosian, director of the Yerevan-based Regional Studies Center.

Pashinyan has faced mounting pressure since the loss of Nagorno-Karabakh, with protests erupting in Yerevan and calls for his resignation from nationalist opposition figures. Nonetheless, he has doubled down on his message of strategic reorientation, including ratifying the Rome Statute to join the International Criminal Court, a move that infuriated Moscow. The ICC has issued a warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s arrest on charges of kidnapping Ukrainian children.

Though peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan have made progress—with both sides recently exchanging draft agreements brokered by US President Donald Trump, and discussing border demarcation—the situation remains fragile. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has made it clear that full normalisation depends on Armenia recognising Azerbaijan’s sovereignty over the entirety of Nagorno-Karabakh and avoiding future claims.

Against this backdrop, Pashinyan’s call to discard Soviet-era worldviews could be seen as both an appeal for national introspection and a message to external powers that Armenia is charting a new, more independent path.

“We have lived too long inside the mental boundaries others drew for us,” he said.
“It is time to think freely—and peacefully—about our place in the region.”