STARTING January 1, 2024, Nagorno-Karabakh will cease to exist and this includes all state institutions and organizations under its departmental subordination by the said date.
This was the decree issued by Samvel Shahramanyan, the president unrecognized Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The decree also says that the region’s inhabitants, including those who have left, should familiarize themselves with the conditions of reintegration offered by the Republic of Azerbaijan, and make an independent choice about whether they will stay or return to Nagorno-Karabakh.
The dissolution takes place in connection with the current difficult military-political situation, and it aims to ensure the safety of the region’s residents while taking into account the ceasefire agreement with Baku.
Baku allows residents of Nagorno-Karabakh including military personnel who lay down their arms to travel freely.
Nagorno-Karabakh is a region that has been long controlled by ethnic Armenians.
It was officially recognized as part of Azerbaijan in December 2022, but concerns of a renewed conflict arose when Azerbaijan blocked a crucial access route to the enclave, known as the Lachin Corridor, a mountain road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia.
On September 20, Russia brokered a ceasefire that halted the hostilities. Azerbaijan and Karabakh authorities initiated discussions about the enclave’s integration into Azerbaijan.
Meanwhile, Ruben Vardanyan, an Armenian separatist leader, was recently arrested by Azerbaijani authorities.
He tried to leave Nagorno-Karabakh for Armenia, just like thousands of other ethnic Armenians who fear that they will be persecuted by Azeri authorities.
Vardanyan, who is also a billionaire businessman and politician, renounced his Russian citizenship last year, stating that it was his duty to move to the center of Armenianhood to invigorate its people and deflate the tensions with was a minister in Nagorno-Karabakh until February.
Vardanyan’s wife has appealed for support to ensure the safe release of the separatist leader.
