Artsakh marks 30th independence anniversary
YEREVAN, September 2, /ARKA/. On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Republic, Armenian President Armen Sarkissian issued an address that reads as follows: “Dear compatriots, on September 2, 1991, Artsakh declared its independence. We are meeting the 30th anniversary of this significant event in the most complicated period, in a difficult situation after the 44-day war.
I once again extend my deepest condolences to the families and relatives of those killed in the war. We are facing a pan-Armenian ordeal, which requires national unity and consolidation again.
Issues of ensuring the security of Artsakh and the inviolability of its population, the constant threat of a new war by Azerbaijan, the status of Artsakh, social-economic and humanitarian matters are priorities on the national agenda.
They cannot be resolved without the existence of an economically and politically strong, developed and competitive Armenia, without a fundamental transformation of the Homeland-Diaspora ties and the full use of the existing potential, without full-fledged cooperation with our international partners.
In our history, Artsakh and the people of Artsakh have always had a special significance for the Armenian world.
That is so today as well when a period full of new challenges has begun for our people. We have no right any more to make mistakes in any issue of the pan-Armenian agenda.’
On September 27, 2020, Azerbaijani armed forces, backed by Turkey and foreign mercenaries and terrorists, attacked Nagorno-Karabakh along the entire front line using rocket and artillery weapons, heavy armored vehicles, military aircraft and prohibited types of weapons such as cluster bombs and phosphorus weapons.
After 44 days of the war, on November 9, the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a statement on the cessation of all hostilities. According to the document, the town of Shushi, the districts of Agdam, Kelbajar and Lachin were handed over to Azerbaijan, with the exception of a 5-kilometer corridor connecting Karabakh with Armenia.
A Russian peacekeeping contingent was deployed along the contact line in Karabakh and along the Lachin corridor. -0
