"Artsakh will not be part of Azerbaijan" – President of Nagorno Karabakh
President of Nagorno-Karabakh Arayik Harutyunyan had his first large press conference since fighting breakout on in Karabakh back in September, following the truce signed on October 10.
The day before, Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, with Russia’s participation and assistance, agreed on introducing a ceasefire regime. At the beginning of his press conference, Arayik Harutyunyan thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin for his efforts to achieve an armstice.
The main messages of his speech:
– Karabakh exercises its right to self-defense
• ‘Artsakh will not be part of Azerbaijan’
• Azerbaijan, with the support of Turkey and international terrorism, is carrying out genocide of the people who declared their right to a free life in their homeland in 1988
• Karabakh expects substantive support from the global community in the fight against international terrorism, not just by coverage of events
• The involvement of international terrorism in the fight against the people of Karabakh was confirmed by Russian, American and French authorities
• Azerbaijan is using cluster bombs, shock drones against the civilian population of Karabakh, destroys civilian infrastructure. There is practically not a single neighborhood left in Stepanakert that has not been shelled
• Karabakh blamed the Israeli authorities for their involvement in supplying weapons to the Azerbaijani side not only with attack UAV’s, but also specialists who operate these deadly weapons
• The Karabakh authorities are constantly on the line with the Prime Minister of Armenia, providing him with information about the situation and all the problems of citizens
• If the need arises, the NK President will appeal to the Armenian authorities with a request to recognize the independence of Karabakh
• At the moment, the sides generally abide by the ceasefire regime. However, yesterday the ceasefire was violated. Now it is not known how long it will last
• If the agreements reached in Moscow are not respected by Baku, “this means that Azerbaijan will be forced to ask for an armistice. They want a lasting war – they will get it”
• If during these two days the agreements that were reached by the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan with the mediation of the President of Russia and the OSCE Minsk Group are not fulfilled, this will mean that Azerbaijan does not respect international law.
“In this case, Stepanakert will appeal to the Armenian authorities and the global community with a call to recognize the independence of the Republic of Artsakh. I will declare a patriotic war and call on all Armenians to take part not only financially, but also physically. We will not give up the war imposed on us.”
