What Actually Happened: Artsakh's NSS on Azerbaijani Side's 'Staging'

The National Security Service (NSS) of Artsakh reports that on January 1, 2023, a resident of the town of Chartar in the Martuni region, Toros Ghazaryan, who is engaged in livestock breeding, did not return home from the pasture, which led to the initiation of search efforts.

“Given the high likelihood that due to health issues he could have wandered into areas controlled by the Azerbaijani armed forces, this was also reported to the command of the Russian peacekeeping forces in Artsakh in order to obtain information from the Azerbaijani side. Since January 1, the Azerbaijani side has not only failed to confirm but has also denied that T. Ghazaryan was under their control. To avoid endangering our citizen's life and health, we continued negotiations with the Azerbaijani side through the mediation of the peacekeepers without publicizing it, as a result of which Azerbaijan has today confirmed T. Ghazaryan’s presence with them and transferred him to the Russian peacekeepers at a blocked section of the Stepanakert-Goris roadway, attributing false nuances and providing desired comments and assessments for political and propaganda purposes,” the statement said.

T. Ghazaryan has already undergone examination, and doctors have assessed his health condition as satisfactory. In the framework of a criminal proceeding initiated by the Artsakh law enforcement agencies, all measures will be taken to fully clarify the circumstances of how citizen T. Ghazaryan came under the control of the Azerbaijani armed forces.

The Azerbaijani side's staging today once again demonstrates that their aim is not to confront reality and accept it but to mislead the international community and their domestic audience with false theses and propaganda materials,” the statement adds.