Armenia`s authorities must do their best to defend Artsakh Armenians  rights - Samvel Shahramanyan

ArmInfo. The top leadership of the Republic of Artsakh, headed by the President of Nagorno-Karabakh Samvel Shahramanyan, visited the Yerablur military burial pantheon on September 2, where they paid tribute to the memory of the servicemen who died in the battles for the independence of the republic. 

In a conversation with journalists, Samvel Shahramanyan recalled that  33 years ago, on this day, the people of Nagorno-Karabakh adopted the  Declaration of Independence. Unfortunately, today the Armenian  population celebrates this day far from their home. The issue of  their return to their homeland is constantly on the agenda of the  current authorities of the republic. By the decision of the Artsakh  parliament, a working group was created, headed by former Armenian  Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan. "We meet periodically and discuss  all possible options for the return of our compatriots to their  places of permanent residence. There are numerous proposals and  initiatives on this issue. I can say one thing: the people of Artsakh  have a great desire to return to their homes, but we must prepare for  this return to be carried out using the mechanisms of international  guarantees. If these guarantees are real, we are ready to ensure the  return of the people of Artsakh to their homeland," the President of  Artsakh said.

Shahramanyan added that his decree on the dissolution of the Republic  of Artsakh is illegal and this document has no legal force. "The  issue of dissolution of Artsakh is being manipulated. The document  that we had to sign made it possible to ensure the safe movement of  the civilian population," he said, noting that the document on the  dissolution of Artsakh is illegal and has no legal force. Speaking  about relations with RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Shahramanyan  noted that after being forced to move to Yerevan, he did not meet  with the head of the Armenian government. "I did not try to meet with  Pashinyan, accordingly, there were no discussions between us, and we  did not present our proposals to return to Artsakh, since this is our  right and the Prime Minister cannot hinder this process," said Savel  Shahramanyan, adding that the Armenian authorities themselves refused  to negotiate with the people of Artsakh. Meanwhile, the return of the  people of Artsakh to their native places is possible only with the  presence of a powerful Armenia.

The President stressed that in recent decades, the negotiations on  the Artsakh issue were conducted by the Armenian authorities, and the  return of Artsakh to the international agenda is also a matter for  official Yerevan. "The Armenian authorities must do everything  possible to protect the rights of the people of Artsakh, including on  international platforms. We are ready to cooperate with all  interested structures in various formats, but it is very important  that the Artsakh issue is correctly formulated in the draft peace  treaty with Azerbaijan," Samvel Shahramyan noted. Speaking about the  statement of the Armenian Prime Minister regarding the fate of former  State Minister of Artsakh Ruben Vardanyan, Shahramanyan called for a  more open discussion on this issue so that the public understands  what is being discussed.