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Samvel Babayan, a former secretary of the Artsakh Security Council, says he was the first to be summoned for questioning by the Investigation Commission as part of an ongoing probe into the September developments in Artsakh.

Babayan on Wednesday testified before the Armenian parliament commission probing the 2020 war.

He told reporters after the commission hearings that he elaborated on his statements made during an interview to the Public TV Company back in October, including on the surrender of weapons to Azerbaijan, negotiations with Baku, and the “overthrow of the constitutional order”.

When asked whether Artsakh’s state institutions should function in Armenia, the former official said: "On the very first day, I asked the prime minister to set up a special programs department, like the one which operated on Moskovyan Street in the 1990s, to meet all needs of the Artsakh people. Nikol Pashinyan turned down the proposal without providing any reasons. I'll probably meet him one day and we’ll discuss it. I submitted a written request to him, I haven't seen Nikol Pashinyan for more than two years.”

Also, Babayan underscored that he never considered the Artsakh issue closed.