Azerbaijan demolishes Artsakh Foreign Ministry building

On September 2, Azerbaijani authorities began demolishing the building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Artsakh in Stepanakert. Azerbaijani media report that the choice of date was not accidental — September 2 marks the proclamation of independence of the Republic of Artsakh.

“The date of the demolition is symbolic for Azerbaijan, as September 2 was previously observed as the anniversary of the separatist entity’s declaration,” Media.az reported.

The building had previously hosted meetings with foreign politicians sympathetic to the Armenian cause and had been used to issue “illegal entry visas and non-legitimate press accreditations” to international media, according to the report.

The article also notes that the building had been the site of “provocative” statements by figures such as Davit Babayan and others, who are now imprisoned in Baku. Babayan, for instance, had once said that “the Azerbaijani flag could appear in Karabakh only if an embassy were to open there.”

Thus, the demolition’s timing is seen not only as politically calculated but also symbolically significant.

In place of the demolished building, Azerbaijani authorities plan to construct a new “Department of Architecture and Urban Planning.”

On September 19, 2023, Azerbaijan launched a large-scale military assault on Artsakh, subjecting the region to massive shelling. One day later, on September 20, the authorities of Artsakh agreed to a ceasefire proposed by the Russian peacekeeping command, effectively accepting Baku’s conditions — the disarmament of the Defense Army and the dissolution of the Republic of Artsakh. Forced deportations began on September 24, displacing over 100,000 people to Armenia. As of current reports, only about 20 Armenians remain in Artsakh. On September 28, President Samvel Shahramanyan signed a decree dissolving the Republic of Artsakh, which came into force on January 1, 2024.