There’s a building in Yerevan still being used by representatives of the former Artsakh Republic as a de facto government in exile headquarters even though the administration of Nikol Pashinyan has condemned their actions as posing “a threat to the national security of the Republic of Armenia.”

“If necessary, appropriate steps should be taken and appropriate measures should be taken so that external forces do not use certain circles to create a threat to Armenia's security,” Pashinyan said in a March 2024 statement targeting former Artsakh officials.

Armenia’s Prosecutor General’s Office has now filed a lawsuit against the Cadastre Committee demanding it annul a 2017 decision that gave property rights to the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic government.

The building was used as the Artsakh government’s permanent representation in Armenia and is still used by various former Artsakh officials as their de facto headquarters.

Samvel Shahramanyan, who served as the last Artsakh president, signed a ceasefire agreement in September 2023 acknowledging that the Artsakh Republic would cease to exist as of January 1, 2024.

Shahramanyan, during a March 2024 with France’s Le Figaro daily, described the Artsakh government’s dissolution as “illegal,” and acknowledged that agreeing to it was the best way to save Karabakh Armenian lives.

“This building where I am receiving you houses the presidential, legislative and judicial offices of Artsakh,” he said. “Lawmakers can meet here to vote.”

The building he refers to is the same Yerevan building the Armenian government now wants to seize.