Artsakh issue remains unresolved, leader insists

Artsakh President Samvel Shahramanyan has reiterated that the Artsakh issue cannot be considered resolved as long as its people are deprived of their homeland and sacred sites.

Speaking to reporters at Yerevan’s Yerablur Military Pantheon on the fifth anniversary of the 2020 war, Shahramanyan recalled that Azerbaijan launched a large-scale offensive to seize Artsakh early on September 27.

Asked whether the war could have been avoided, he pointed to the years of negotiations under the OSCE Minsk Group and assurances that the conflict had no military solution. “Unfortunately, the situation in the world has changed, and today many conflicts are being resolved by force,” he said, adding he could not definitively answer whether the war was preventable.

Shahramanyan stressed that Artsakh authorities welcome any initiative aimed at peace, but insisted that the rights and fate of Artsakh Armenians must be addressed. “The Artsakh issue cannot be considered resolved when Artsakh Armenians are cut off from their homeland, the graves of their loved ones and their sanctities,” he said.

Shahramanyan dismissed criticism that the Artsakh people should have stayed and fought, calling it unserious and unworthy of consideration.