On the occasion of the 34th anniversary of the proclamation of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (Artsakh), the National Assembly of Artsakh issued a statement.
“Dear” compatriots!
September 2, 2025 marks 34 years since the proclamation of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (Artsakh). This date is not only a historical memorial day for the Armenian people, but also a testimony to the right to self-determination and peaceful coexistence based on international law. This decision, which has pan-Armenian significance, was made on historical and legal grounds.
September 2, 1991 marked the beginning of the statehood of Artsakh. For thirty years, relying on a solid constitutional foundation and effectively functioning state and democratic institutions, the people of Artsakh ensured the development of the Second Armenian Republic. Although the Republic of Artsakh was not internationally recognized, it was an established state structure and a guarantor of peace and security in the region, which was reckoned with not only by regional powers, but also by various centers of international significance.
The war of 2020, and then the genocidal acts committed by Azerbaijan in September 2023, the complete occupation of the territory of the Republic of Artsakh and the expulsion of Armenians are inscribed in the history of mankind as a black and shameful page, where the right to self-determination and free life was sacrificed for the interests of power, economy and totalitarianism.
We remember and bow to all those who defended the right of the people of Artsakh to a free life. Like every nationally conscious person, we are obliged to continue the struggle for the restoration of historical justice and join the national liberation movement of the Armenian people.
Today, when the state structures of Artsakh are in exile and the people are deprived of their native land, the National Assembly of Artsakh, as the highest representative body endowed with a primary mandate, expressing the will and position of the entire population of the republic, considers it necessary to once again emphasize and remind the international community:
The proclamation of the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) is based on the laws of the Soviet Union in force at that time, therefore it is legal and cannot be questioned in the light of pressure and arbitrary interpretations by dictatorial forces.
The Armenian national cultural and religious values, formed over thousands of years in the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) and the adjacent territories, are part of the universal civilization, and their preservation and care are an integral part of the functions of the relevant international structures.
The collective return of the peoples living in the territory of the Republic of Artsakh to their native lands is an inalienable and absolute right, the ignoring of which is a continuation of the genocide committed by Azerbaijan.
The mandate of the OSCE Minsk Group also includes the issue of the rights of the people of Artsakh, therefore the dissolution of this group without the development of effective mechanisms and guarantees for the protection of these rights is unacceptable.
Based on the above arguments, the National Assembly of the Republic of Artsakh demands from the authorities of the Republic of Armenia and calls on competent international organizations and mediating countries to include in the agenda of the Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations the issues of the release of prisoners and hostages, the return of the Armenians of Artsakh to their native land and ensuring the right to free, safe and dignified residence in their historical homeland.
True peace and long-term stability in the region require fair, balanced and acceptable solutions for the parties, and not temporary, situational ones based on coercion and geopolitical bargaining.
The Artsakh problem has not been solved, the Artsakh issue is not closed, since the ratification of acts of genocide and the legitimization of their consequences cannot be considered the final result in either international written or unwritten legal and moral norms.
A citizen of Artsakh is the master of his homeland, his history, his spiritual and cultural heritage, his past and future, his rights and mission.