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Opposition MP Tigran Abrahamyan has decried Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s statements in which he slammed Artsakh’s leaders for continuing to present themselves as a government in exile and threatened to crack down on them.

His warning on Thursday was addressed to Artsakh President Samvel Shahramanyan who told Le Figaro in an interview on Wednesday that the Artsakh government continue to formally operate in Yerevan.

“This building where I am hosting you houses the presidential, legislative and judicial offices of Artsakh,” he said.

Abrahamyan highlighted that on 18 June 1940, after the expansionist actions of fascist Germany and the occupation of France, famous French general Charles de Gaulle urged all French officers, soldiers and military specialists on the territory of Britain to continue the struggle in a radio message.

"Britain not only did not consider the general's message a threat to its sovereignty, but also recognized Charles de Gaulle’s government in exile. It was later recognized by the superpowers of the time – the U.S. and the USSR,” the MP posted on Facebook on Friday.

“Well, it is pretty clear why the Artsakh president’s statements made some people upset at the cabinet meeting. Pashinyan has assured his Azerbaijani colleagues that there is nothing to worry about as the Armenian authorities not only do not recognize the Artsakh government in exile, but also are ready to take radical steps to close the Artsakh issue.

“Moreover, the Armenian authorities are also alarmed by another remark of the Artsakh president. Speaking about the Azerbaijani occupation of Armenian settlements and its further territorial claims to Armenia’s sovereign territories, he says how the Armenian authorities can consider their country safe when some parts of its territory are now occupied by Azerbaijan, while the Baku leaders are laying public claims to other territories as well.

“This was unexpected for Pashinyan’s regime, because unlike them who cede territories to Azerbaijan after acknowledging its sovereignty over them, the Artsakh president has a different position and speaks up," Abrahamyan stressed.

He claims any form of opposition and struggle aimed at promoting Armenian interests are met with strong resistance from the Pashinyan government.

“But they cannot stop this process regardless of whether the government increases the number of political prisoners or starts using ‘blunt instruments' against people," the MP added.