Programs of the Armenian Government for Artsakh Residents Are Obligations, Not Acts of Goodwill: Mesrop Arakelyan

Mesrop Arakelyan, co-founder of the 'Living Country' party, wrote on his Facebook page:

'Residents of Artsakh have the full right to receive all social guarantees established by law, without any problem, within the territory of the Republic of Armenia, which is set for citizens of the Republic of Armenia. In this regard, no state body has the right to carry out any additional processes or to establish any discriminatory approaches.

For this purpose, following the war, in 2021, with my initiative along with Mane Tandilyan, a memorandum concerning the social sector was signed between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Artsakh. The memorandum is in force, and the programs implemented by the Armenian government are merely the state's obligations and not acts of goodwill.

At the same time, it is very important to support Artsakh residents in employment issues. Therefore, it is necessary to encourage employers who hire Artsakh residents by compensating the amount of income tax. This incurs no costs for the state while simultaneously encouraging the creation of new jobs. We had implemented such a program in Artsakh after the 2020 war,' Arakelyan stated.