The leader of the Armenian separatists of Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed territory for more than three decades, announced on Friday, December 22, the lifting of the dissolution of the secessionist units, which was to take place on January 1, 2024.
“In the legal sphere of the Republic of Artsakh [nom donné par les séparatistes arméniens au Haut-Karabakh]“There is no document that provides for the dissolution of state institutions,” Samvel Chakhramanian said during a meeting with other leaders in Yerevan.
This turnaround comes less than ten days before the dissolution of the self-proclaimed separatist republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, planned since late September by a decree by Mr. Chakhramanian, more than thirty years after its founding.
The decree is “a blank piece of paper,” Mr. Chakhramanian’s office told Agence France-Presse. “No document can lead to the dissolution of the republic established by the will of the people,” the services of the leader of the Armenian separatists further argued.
Read the story: Article reserved for our subscribers Nagorno-Karabakh: the end of a self-proclaimed republic that emerged from the collapse of the USSR
In reality, however, Samvel Chakhramanian has no longer had any power over the fate of the enclave since an Azerbaijani offensive in September that recaptured the entire mountainous region.
Military operation
During this 24-hour military operation, the Baku authorities arrested several separatist representatives and the region was almost completely stripped of its residents. 100,000 of the 120,000 registered people fled to Armenia.
Back then, ten days after Baku recaptured the enclave, Samvel Chakhramanian signed a decree dissolving “all government institutions” of the separatist republic “as of January 1, 2024.” As a result, “the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh” will end “its existence,” it said in particular.
Since then, Azerbaijan's authoritarian President Ilham Aliev visited Khankendi, the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh (Stepanakert from the Armenian name), in mid-October and hoisted the Azerbaijani tricolor.
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Building on that military victory in the enclave, he also called an early presidential election in early December on February 7, 2024, which could extend his reign, which began in 2003 after his father's death.
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Azerbaijani and Armenian separatists have fought over territory since the end of the USSR and there have been two wars, the first in the early 1990s and the second in 2020, which Baku won.
Our explanations: Nagorno-Karabakh: Understanding this centuries-old conflict that ignites relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia