Azerbaijan's Territorial Integrity Has No Relation to Artsakh: Statement

The factions of the National Assembly of Artsakh have issued a statement asserting that Azerbaijan's territorial integrity has no connection to the Republic of Artsakh.

Below is the full text of the statement:

Considering the recognition of the independence of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic by the Russian Federation, and the subsequent reintegration of these regions along with the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions into the Russian Federation on September 30, 2022, the factions of the National Assembly of Artsakh note that the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh legally exercised its right to self-determination in 1991, in accordance with international legal norms, democratic principles, and the legislation of the USSR in force at that time. The international community recognized Azerbaijan as an independent state within the borders determined by the internal legislation of the USSR. According to that legislation, at the time of gaining independence, Nagorno-Karabakh had no connection with that country; otherwise, it would not have been included in the UN. Therefore, Azerbaijan's territorial integrity has no relation to the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Accepting the principle of equality of nations and self-determination enshrined in the first article of the UN Charter and the International Court of Justice's ruling dated July 22, 2010, which states that international law does not prohibit declarations of independence such as that of Kosovo, the factions of the National Assembly of Artsakh call on the co-chair countries of the OSCE Minsk Group—Russia, the United States, France, and the other 190 UN member states—to recognize the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, thereby nullifying the severe existential threats faced by its population.

“Free Homeland-KMD” “United Homeland” “Justice” “Armenian Revolutionary Federation” “Democratic Party of Artsakh”