Without the Defense Army, the People of Artsakh Cannot Survive in Their Historic Homeland, MFA

The Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a statement saying, "In recent days, the armed forces of Azerbaijan have intensified their provocative actions against both the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia and the Defense Army units of Artsakh. Residential areas in the Republic of Armenia and Artsakh have also been targeted. The Azerbaijani side is trying to mask its aggressive actions by accusing the Armenian side of violating the November 9 trilateral statement, while at the same time openly distorting the same statement itself.

We find it necessary to note that the first point of the November 9 statement clearly states: '...the sides stop at their occupied positions.' However, the Azerbaijani armed units launched attacks towards the villages of Hin Tagher and Khtsaberd in the Hadrut region of Artsakh a month after the signing of the statement, resulting in the capture of those settlements and the killing and kidnapping of Armenian servicemen.

Currently, the Azerbaijani side is also attempting to seize new positions in various sections of the contact line, targeting Armenian defenders using various weaponry, including unmanned aerial vehicles. A recent incident occurred today near the villages of Mkhitarashen and Shosh.

The Azerbaijani assertions that the November 9 trilateral statement establishes the withdrawal of Armenian military units from Nagorno-Karabakh are an outright falsehood.

In this situation, the Artsakh Defense Army, which was formed by the people of Artsakh in the 1990s and has been a key factor in ensuring safety over the past 30 years, continues to ensure the security and right to life for the people of Artsakh together with Russian peacekeepers. Without the Defense Army, the people of Artsakh cannot survive in their historic homeland, and the scenario of withdrawing the Defense Army is a scenario for the depopulation of Artsakh.

The withdrawal of Armenian military units from the statement of November 9 is only envisaged from the adjacent territories of Nagorno-Karabakh, which are clearly specified in the statement. The Armenian side has fully complied with this point of the statement, while Azerbaijan has responded by infiltrating the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia from those very regions and illegal deployment there.

The aggressions against the Republic of Armenia that started on May 12 have led to human casualties and have seriously endangered regional security.

We are convinced that the resumption of the peace settlement process in Nagorno-Karabakh under the auspices of the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, the complete implementation of the November 9 and January 11 trilateral statements, and the elimination of the consequences of documented violations, including the unconditional maintenance of the ceasefire, the withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia, and the immediate repatriation of Armenian prisoners of war and civilian hostages can create prerequisites for strengthening peace and security in the region."