At the risk of being accused of being a “Dashnak” organization, taking Russian money, and circulating “fake news” by some Armenians, including notably the Zoryan Institute, which demanded last year that we apologize to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan after suggesting that he was engaging in cryptic genocide denial, the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention and Human Security once again calls attention to Prime Minister Pashinyan’s recent statements on the Armenian Genocide, which further echo Turkish denialist narratives.

His senseless statements ignore the decades of historical research on the Armenian Genocide conducted by Turkish, German, British, American, and Armenian scholars, among others, stand in the way of the ongoing struggle for justice for the victims of the Armenian Genocide, and create a dangerous geopolitical dynamic, especially in the context of #Azerbaijan ’s recent genocide of Artsakh Armenians and its ongoing threats to the Republic of #Armenia .

We hope that the Armenian Prime Minister will clarify his statements on the genocide and work to prevent any future familiarity between his statements and those of Armenian Genocide deniers. We will continue to advocate for Armenia’s right to sovereignty and especially for greater international defense of Armenia’s borders.

To read the full statement, please visit our website: bit.ly/3Q0ItXK

On 8 August 2025, Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met at the White House to sign a Joint Declaration and initial a U.S.-brokered “peace deal.” The Lemkin Institute warns that the premature celebration of peace dangerously ignores Azerbaijan’s genocidal record and ongoing threats to Armenian sovereignty.

The current text of the agreement omits core issues that are essential to lasting peace in the region: justice for the 2023 Artsakh Genocide, the rights of 100,000 displaced Armenians, the release of Armenian POWs and political prisoners, the fate of cultural heritage, and mechanisms for accountability. Instead, it forces Armenia to withdraw its ICJ and ECtHR cases — erasing the only legal avenues for truth and justice.

It also strengthens Azerbaijan’s hand by removing third party monitoring along the border, granting Azerbaijan’s long-sought corridor through Armenia’s Syunik province, opening U.S. aid to Azerbaijan, and ignoring Baku’s ongoing occupation of Armenian territory and genocidal rhetoric towards Armenians.

The Lemkin Institute stresses that this deal prioritizes geopolitics and U.S. interests over Armenian security. Without accountability, justice, and guarantees for Armenian sovereignty, the agreement risks legitimizing Azerbaijan’s expansionist agenda, emboldening further aggression, and even threatening the survival of Armenia as a state.

We welcome all genuine efforts to create peace but do not believe that genocidal states can be entrusted with the futures of their permanent targets. For Armenia to be secure, the U.S. will need to force Azerbaijan to make changes and concessions as required by international law, including the withdrawal from Armenian territory, the release of all Armenian hostages, and domestic reforms that dismantle official genocidal anti-Armenianism. The U.S. will also need to support an independent justice mechanism that can ensure that the historical grievances of both countries are addressed.

Read the full statement through link in bio or visit: bit.ly/4g4GCOb

As the Christmas holiday approaches, the Lemkin Institute strongly urges U.S. President Donald Trump to take measures to secure the immediate release of Armenian prisoners being held illegally by Azerbaijan. These hostages have been all but abandoned by the outside world, despite the fact that they are being held by a state that has fought three genocidal wars against Armenians in the past five years. Their release would constitute a major humanitarian and geopolitical victory for the President and would strengthen his efforts to secure long-term peace in the South Caucasus and the Middle East.

As President Trump seeks to project U.S. strength globally, a successful effort to release Armenian Christian hostages from Azerbaijan would establish his authority over not only Azerbaijan, but also Israel and Türkiye, two U.S. allies that have made a habit of wagging the dog, no matter how illegal, immoral, or contrary to long-term U.S. national security interests their policies are.

We believe that supporting and securing the return of all the Armenian hostages will underscore President Trump’s stated mission of bringing peace to the region and will buttress U.S. strength from the Mediterranean to the Pacific. While President Trump has repeatedly emphasized his role in promoting stability and preventing further conflict, this mission remains weak as long as an unknown number of Armenian POWs continue to be held in Azerbaijan.

We remind the President that he promised to protect Armenian Christians during his campaign.

Armenian Apostolic Christians celebrate Christmas on January 6. We urge the U.S. President to bring the hostages home to their families before then.

To read the full letter: bit.ly/OpenLettertoPresidentTrump