The Republic of Armenia and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan have never had formal diplomatic relations. Pakistan is the only country in the world that does not recognize Armenia as a sovereign state.[1][2] It has maintained this position due to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, in spite of the fact that Armenia and Azerbaijan have always recognized each other as sovereign states ever since they both gained independence during the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Pakistan, which recognized Azerbaijani sovereignty in 1991, has declared that any Pakistani recognition of Armenia will be contingent on the Armenians relinquishing their claim to Nagorno-Karabakh as well as an end to the Armenian presence in that disputed territory. Likewise, Pakistan openly supported Azerbaijan during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War and the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War; it has strongly advocated full Azerbaijani control over Nagorno-Karabakh, which has historically had an Armenian-majority population, though it is internationally recognized as a part of Azerbaijan.
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 Armenia |  Pakistan |
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Amidst the 2023 Azerbaijani military offensive, over 100,000 Armenians were displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh,[3] triggering the collapse of the Armenia-backed Republic of Artsakh. The United Nations has stated from local reports that there are between 50 and 1000 Armenians remaining in the region.[4] On 20 September 2023, one day after Azerbaijan's offensive began, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry released an official statement reaffirming Pakistan's "unwavering support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan" in Nagorno-Karabakh.[5][6] With the Republic of Artsakh no longer extant, the continuation of Pakistan's non-recognition of Armenia remains as of yet unclear.
History
Pakistan and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
Pakistan was the third country, after Turkey and Romania, to recognize Azerbaijan, and has close relations with it as it relates to conflicts in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Pakistan had supported Azerbaijan during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. In 2015, Pakistan declared that recognizing Armenia's independence is contingent on the latter leaving Karabakh.[7] In 2020, Pakistan supported Azerbaijan in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war and hailed the subsequent ceasefire, which brought Azerbaijan territorial gains.[8]
Armenia, Pakistan, and India
At the end of 2016, Armenian–Pakistani relations further deteriorated, and Armenia vetoed Pakistan's bid for observer status in the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Parliamentary Assembly.[9][10][11]
In 2019 after an interview with WION, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that Armenia supported India in the Kashmir conflict between India and Pakistan.[12]
See also
References
Further reading
- "Pakistan and the World (Chronology: April–June 2005)", in: Pakistan Horizon, Vol. 58 (2005), No. 3, pp. 121–169. JSTOR.
- Shannon O'Lear & Robert Whiting: "Which comes first, the nation or the state? A multiple scale model applied to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in the Caucasus", in: National Identities, Vol. 10 (2008), No. 2, pp. 185–206. Taylor & Francis Online.