Armenia’s opposition Hayastan and With Honor parliamentary factions have announced they will not participate in an inquiry committee tasked with investigating various aspects of the 2020 Artsakh war.

Yesterday, after months of political wrangling, the Armenian National Assembly announced the formation of the committee consisting of eleven members - seven from the ruling Civil Contract faction and four from the opposition. Standing Committee on Defense and Security Chairman Antranik Kocharyan will head the inquiry committee.

The two factions, in a statement released today, argue that the committee, to be comprised mainly of pro-government MPs cannot objectively investigate how the war was conducted by the Pashinyan administration.

“Despite this simple truth, the government, which has publicly stated that it is ‘the number one culprit’ and ‘the number one responsible party’ for the catastrophic war, is setting up an investigative commission headed by it,” the statement reads.

The two opposition factions also allege that the Pashinyan government has instructed law enforcement agencies to show a unified position on the issue.

“It is clear that the investigative commission will be engaged in presenting the ‘innocence’ of the authorities,” the statement reads.

The Hayastan and With Honor factions write that one of their priorities is to identify those responsible for the Armenian defeat in the 2020 war.