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Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan says that the Armenian government had no plan to deal with the exodus of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) and its response was organized within a few days.

“Our international partners have expressed surprise that 100,000 forcibly displaced persons can enter the country in three days and the government is able to meet at least their short-term and mid-term needs,” Pashinyan told a cabinet meeting on Thursday.

“We did not have a plan beforehand, because the depopulation of Nagorno-Karabakh was never part of our plans or political desires, even within the logic of crisis management. There was no such issue on our agenda. The response was practically organized in a matter of hours and days,” he added.

According to Pashinyan, the authorities intend to do everything so that the displaced people, who for some reasons will not be able to return to their homes, will live and work in Armenia.

Also, he says that nearly 2,500 forcibly displaced people from Nagorno-Karabakh have left Armenia.

"I hope that they went abroad to spend some time with their relatives and to cope with this shock and will return in the future," Pashinyan added.