On November 3, Alen Simonyan, the Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia, commented on Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s recent statements regarding Lake Sevan and the return of Azerbaijanis to their "historical lands," during a conversation with journalists. "I’ve been talking about this for a long time. I said that if we delve into historical research, it might turn out that someone will find their homeland in Altai," Simonyan stated, responding to Aliyev’s remark that "there is no Lake Sevan, but there is Lake Goycha, and the return of Azerbaijanis to their historical lands should not frighten Armenians".

The parliamentary speaker noted that Aliyev’s words were directed at his domestic audience, emphasizing that he did not interpret them as a call for territorial liberation. "I have nothing to add to this. This is intended for his internal audience, and I don’t want to speak on behalf of that audience. I didn’t see any intention to liberate the lands in his words. On the contrary, he says: we must return by car, not by tanks, etc. I don’t understand why you interpret this as liberation. So when we talk about the return of Karabakh residents to their homes, are we talking about tanks?" Simonyan stated. When asked whether such remarks by the Azerbaijani President were appropriate, Simonyan chose not to respond.