Knowing That Residents Must Leave Artsakh's Aghavno, Investments Were Made

The newspaper "Zhoghovurd" reports that residents of three settlements in the Republic of Artsakh—Aghavno, Berdzor, and Sus—must vacate their homes by August 25. This requirement stems from the trilateral statement signed on November 9, 2020, by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, which mandated the deployment of Russian peacekeepers along the Artsakh-Azerbaijan border, making it clear that these territories would also be surrendered.

In other words, news about relinquishing these areas became known nearly two years ago, yet a significant number of investments have been made in Aghavno during this time. A school and a kindergarten have been renovated reportedly with around 300,000 USD in non-state funding, according to "Zhoghovurd."

Aghavno's village mayor, Andranik Chavushyan, confirmed to "Zhoghovurd" that various investments had indeed been made in the village during this period, although he refrained from specifying the exact amount of funds used. "Since the war, no state-level actions have been taken; they said we would surrender the area. Even Haik Marutyan came; I presented what was needed, but he left and didn’t follow through. Friends, particularly Armenian Americans, have helped with the school, kindergarten, or other issues, but there has been no state support," detailed the mayor from the Armenian Revolutionary Federation.

This raises the question: despite knowing that residents would have to leave Aghavno, why were investments made there? Those funds could have been redirected towards improving other cities in Artsakh, rather than playing with people's emotions. For more details, see today's issue of the newspaper.