YEREVAN — Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan has filed a defamation lawsuit against Edgar Ghazaryan, a Member of Parliament from the opposition "Strong Armenia" faction, demanding a public retraction and AMD six million (approximately US$15,500) in compensation.

The legal action, submitted electronically on Thursday, October 1, 2026, centers on remarks made by Ghazaryan during an interview on September 27, 2026. In the broadcast, Ghazaryan alleged that Azerbaijani military advances and the breach of Armenian defensive lines during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war only began after Pashinyan visited a command post in Stepanakert on October 6, 2020, and subsequently began "directly providing information to the enemy."

In the lawsuit, Pashinyan’s legal counsel, Arman Nersisyan, characterizes the allegations as entirely false, malicious, and defamatory.

Pashinyan is requesting a court mandate that would compel Ghazaryan to read a specific, court-approved text admitting the statements were groundless. According to the filing, the retraction must meet several strict conditions:

• Live Broadcast: It must be delivered during a live video and audio broadcast via the News.am media outlet.
• Specific Labeling: The broadcast must run under the explicit heading: "Retraction regarding the defamatory information published by me about RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during the interview on September 27, 2026."
• No Commentary: The statement must be delivered strictly as written, with no added commentary or context from Ghazaryan or any third party.

The case has been formally assigned to Judge Marina Tashchyan at the Yerevan Civil Court. As of Friday, the court has yet to issue a formal decision on whether to admit the claim for proceedings.

This lawsuit is part of a broader pattern of recent legal disputes involving Pashinyan and prominent political figures. Pashinyan has previously brought similar civil defamation suits against several opposition lawmakers, public figures, and critics.