Samvel Shahramanyan, the head of the unrecognized Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, signed on Thursday a decree to terminate the existence of the republic.
The unrecognized Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh will cease to exist from January 1, 2024, according to the decree.
"Based on the priority of ensuring the physical security and vital interests of the people of Karabakh, taking into account the agreement reached through the mediation of the command of the Russian peacekeeping contingent with representatives of Azerbaijan that free, voluntary and unimpeded passage of residents of Nagorno-Karabakh, including military personnel who have laid down their arms, with their property is ensured on their vehicles along the Lachin corridor ... a decision was made: to dissolve all state institutions and organizations under their departmental subordination until January 1, 2024, and the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) ceases to exist," the decree read.
The decree goes into effect immediately after publication.
On September 19, Baku announced the launch of "local anti-terrorist activities" in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh aimed at "restoring the constitutional order." Yerevan described the operation as aggression against the population of Nagorno-Karabakh and reiterated that it had no military presence in the disputed region. The next day, Azerbaijan and representatives of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh agreed on a complete cessation of hostilities through the mediation of Russian peacekeepers.
Situation in Nagorno-Karabakh
© Sputnik
Azerbaijan and Armenia have fought two wars over Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous region wedged in between the two nations that has been seeking independence from Baku. The decades-long conflict reignited in the fall of 2020, marking the worst escalation since the 1990s. Hostilities ended in a Russia-brokered ceasefire and the deployment of Russian peacekeepers to the region.
On November 9, Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on the complete cessation of hostilities. Russian peacekeepers have been brought into the region to ensure the operation of humanitarian corridors. On May 17, 2023, at the summit of the Council of Europe, Pashinyan stated that Armenia recognizes the sovereignty of Azerbaijan within its borders, which includes Nagorno-Karabakh.