Public Television of Armenia has issued an unconditional apology after broadcasting an entertainment concert by singer Tata Simonyan on September 27, the anniversary of the 2020 Artsakh War.

“We will not try to justify what happened with programmatic, technical or working circumstances. We apologize for what happened. Relevant working procedures are being reviewed to prevent a recurrence of such incidents,” PTA’s statement reads.

Simonyan condemned the airing as an unauthorized and inexcusable mistake.

"I consider the broadcast of my concert by Public Television on this day to have been a serious mistake that has no justification. Glory to our martyrs. I bow before their memory,”  Simonyan said in a statement.

The public backlash surrounding the state-run media erupted into a major scandal following PTA’s decision to air upbeat entertainment programming on a day of national mourning.

Critics argue the programming aligns with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's push to frame the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as closed to advance regional peace.

The 44-day war of 2020, launched by Azerbaijan, claimed the lives of 3,833 Armenians, including 3,755 servicemen and 78 civilians. 191 people, including 19 civilians, remain missing.