Karabakh ex-official: Independence sought to protect Armenia from sanctionsDecember 11, 2023 - 12:58 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Former President of the Nagorno-Karabakh parliament Ashot Ghulyan has said that the decision of the people of Karabakh to declare independence from the Soviet Union was to protect Armenia from international sanctions. “On December 10, perhaps first in the territory of the Soviet Union, we decided that we can present our right to independence to the world only through a popular referendum,” Ghulyan told a press conference in Yerevan on Sunday, December 10, News.am reports. "We showed that this is the collective will of the entire Artsakh, former Nagorno Karabakh people, it is their dream. At that time, by declaring an independent state, we tried to protect Armenia from international sanctions and all dangers. And when talking about danger, they should remember that Artsakh has never created dangers for Armenia," he said. The former chairman of the Artsakh National Assembly noted that the Artsakh identity and state institutions are interrelated, and both should be kept in parallel. According to him, it is very important to preserve the state institutions in order to preserve the identity. On September 19, Azerbaijan launched a military offensive against Nagorno-Karabakh, which left hundreds of Armenians killed and thousands of others displaced. On September 20, the authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh agreed to a ceasefire on Azerbaijan’s terms, including the dissolution of the Defense Army. On September 28, President of the Republic of Artsakh Samvel Shahramanyan signed a decree, according to which the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) will cease to exist by January 1, 2024. Over 100,000 displaced residents have already fled Nagorno-Karabakh and reached Armenia. Top stories The Cabinet of Ministers decided on Thursday, November 9 to allocated AMD 120 million to arrange the gathering. Michael Roth believes sanctions must be put on the table after Baku‘s ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh. The Yerevan City Council has elected Tigran Avniyan from the ruling Civil Contract as the mayor of the Armenian capital. The Armenian Parliament on Tuesday, October 3 voted to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Aliyev says no need for mediators in Armenia-Azerbaijan process Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev believes that Baku and Yerevan do not mediators in the process of normalizing relations. |