The Issue of Artsakh Recognized Internationally as a Problem: Serzh Sargsyan's Message

On the occasion of the Independence Declaration Day of the Republic of Artsakh, Armenia's third president Serzh Sargsyan has sent a message:

“Dear compatriots, for several decades—until the power seizure in 2018—we have all celebrated this day with great pomp, feelings of joy and dignity in Armenia, Artsakh, and the diaspora. The day of the Independence Declaration of the Republic of Artsakh has been a day of liberation for a part of our Homeland that was unjustly annexed by the Azerbaijani anti-Armenian regime, for which our heroic brothers and sisters sacrificed their lives and thousands of compatriots dedicated their best years.

Today, however, on what used to be a festive day, we mark the issues of Artsakh, subjected to ethnic cleansing, depopulation, occupation, and the forced displacement of its citizens, against the backdrop of the complete indifference of the current Armenian administration to these problems resulting from Azerbaijan's genocidal policies. The political and military leadership of Artsakh, as well as other captives and hostage Armenians, are undergoing inhumane deprivations in Azerbaijani prisons under illegal and fabricated charges.

I believe that just as my generation managed to liberate our ancestral land decades after annexation, restore justice, national dignity, and impose peace on the anti-Armenian Azerbaijan—rather than begging for peace under dishonorable terms—we too will emerge from this tragedy victorious. Therefore, let our pain turn into determination, let our losses spur our struggle, and let September 2nd remain not as a memory of the past but as an unwavering conviction of a future crowned with victory.

Yes, the Republic of Artsakh was not internationally recognized, but the issue of Artsakh is recognized as a problem internationally, with the international mechanisms previously established for its fair and sustainable resolution. The possibilities and grounds for exerting international pressure on the Azerbaijani authorities are still present today, but the current Armenian administration deliberately refrains from utilizing these tools.

We cannot silently agree to the defeatist, disastrous policies full of losses of the capitulating authorities, which are deceitfully presented as peace. Meanwhile, they are not backed by any guarantees, and the enemy continues to present demands to the capitulating authorities every day.

For the power usurpers, clinging to fears of losing their chair, Artsakh is not a Homeland but a heavy burden, and the Artsakh Armenians are not compatriots but temporary asylum seekers; the restoration of historical justice is not a goal but an obstructive circumstance. It is unquestionable that no occupier or tyrant, no temporary defeat can shake our will to live as a free, independent, peaceful, and happy nation on the land given to us by God.

Artsakh is a sacred part of the Armenian Homeland, and the return of the Artsakh Armenians is their inviolable and fundamental right.

Glory to the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of the Homeland! Strength and power to our dignified compatriots of today. God save our Homeland!”