Samvel Shahramayan says attempt is being made to close Artsakh issue

YEREVAN, February 22. /ARKA/. Samvel Shahramanyan, who served briefly as president of Nagorno-Karabakh before it was captured by Azerbaijan in 2023 t September, said today that an attempt is being made to close the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) issue,

"An attempt is being made to close everything related to Artsakh. I think we should not go this way, we should find ways to solve the issue of Artsakh and its people. It seems to me that until this issue gets a fair solution, we will always have this open bleeding wound" Shahramanyan said.

On September 19, 2023 Azerbaijan launched an "anti-terror" operation in the region demanding that Karabakh forces surrender, disband their armed forces and dissolve their "illegal regime".

After 24-hour fierce fighting the ethnic Armenian authorities in Stepanakert gave in. Under the terms of the truce, outlined by Azerbaijan and the command of the Russian peacekeeping contingent on the ground, Karabakh armed forces were disbanded and disarmed.

Hundreds of Karabakh residents, including children, were killed in the 24-hopur fighting and hundreds of others wounded.

Samvel Shahramanyan signed a decree to dissolve all state institutions and affiliated organizations until 1 January 2024, and the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) ceased to exist since then.

The entire Armenian population of the region fled to Armenia.-0-