Karabakh leader appointed chief of staff shortly after dissolution decree

PanARMENIAN.Net - Vladimir Grigoryan, an adviser to Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) President Samvel Shahramanyan, has confirmed that after Shahramanyan signed the decree to dissolve Artsakh, he signed another decree to appoint Sargis Galstyan, who lived in Stepanakert and previously held positions, as his chief of his staff.

A decree signed by Shahramanian disbanded all government bodies and said that the unrecognized republic, which had been set up in September 1991, will cease to exist on January 1. It came just over a week after Azerbaijan’s military offensive that forced Karabakh’s small army to lay down weapons and restored Azerbaijani control over the region.

"Of course, a decree was signed by which he was appointed, but I do not know for what purposes," said Grigoryan, according to RFE/RL’s Armenian service.

According to him, each person has decided for themselves whether they want to stay and integrate into Azerbaijan or to leave Artsakh.

"The people of Artsakh did not accept integration, because 32 years ago they made their choice to live freely and independently in Artsakh," he stressed, adding that 20-30 people remained in Artsakh, including Sargis Galstyan.