Honorable President of the Republic of Artsakh, Araik Harutyunyan,

Dear second and third presidents, Arkady Ghukasyan and Bako Sahakyan,

Bishop Vrtanes Abramyan, Head of the Artsakh Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church,

Ladies and gentlemen!

First of all, I welcome and congratulate all of us on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the Karabakh national liberation struggle, the Karabakh movement.

The movement had a truly epochal significance from the point of view of predetermining and forecasting its future, declaring the demand for a free and independent way of life. Rewinding the tape of our memories back to 1988, once again we are inspired and proud of the nationwide awakening initiated by the Artsakh generation of Soviet times, we appreciate the liberation movement of the Artsakh Armenians who were in captivity of the totalitarian regime of the Soviet empire, who were the first of the national minorities to express their will. It was nothing more than an evasion of the fate of the Armenians of the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic, a clear call for survival in their historical homeland.

The February days of 1988 were marked by demonstrations and rallies in almost all districts of the NKAR, and already on February 13, the first rally took place in the central square of Stepanakert.

Today the activists of the Artsakh movement, organizers of rallies and demonstrations are present in the hall. We are grateful for your patriotic activity.

We consider it necessary to emphasize that the Karabakh movement, as the national-liberation struggle of the Artsakh Armenians, existed underground before the mass demonstrations and rallies of 1988.

The motivations were varied. Within the Soviet Azerbaijan, the official Baku consistently implemented anti-Armenian policy, which was manifested by murders, kidnappings and tortures, suppressions and repressions in the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO). Azerbaijan did not limit itself to physical persecution. For 70 years, Azerbaijan has destroyed a rich cultural and spiritual heritage that has a long history. All this was aimed at forcing the Armenians of Artsakh to renounce their religion and faith.

Undoubtedly, the Armenians of Artsakh could not come to terms with what was happening. The only guarantee to preserve their national identity and avoid further ethnic assimilation was reunification with the Motherland.

As a reminder, the Nagorno-Karabakh problem, as an international dispute, arose for the first time after the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1918, due to the need for territorial demarcation between independent Armenia and Azerbaijan. Even the League of Nations accepted Nagorno Karabakh as a disputed status. And after the occupation of the Armenian territory by the Red Army, Karabakh was divided and handed over to Azerbaijan. With that, the Karabakh issue was removed from the agenda of the Paris Peace Conference, where the final resolution of the political status of Nagorno Karabakh was planned.

In fact, Nagorno Karabakh, historically Armenian Artsakh, which was already recognized and declared as an inseparable part of Soviet Armenia, was annexed to Soviet Azerbaijan by the decision of the Caucasian Bureau of the Communist (Bolshevik) Party of Russia on July 5, 1921. This decision was unfounded from a legal point of view, since it was not discussed and was not put to a vote in the party body of the third country, which was by no means endowed with the right to decide on territorial issues. The occupation (annexation) of Nagorno-Karabakh was directly carried out within the framework of the Bolshevik programs for the intermediate export of the "Red Revolution" to the Muslim East. The decision of the Caucasian Bureau was again formally equated with a multilateral international treaty, according to which broad autonomy was to be granted to Nagorno-Karabakh. However, violating the decision of the Caucasus Bureau, which already had no legal force, Baku, by a decree of July 23, 1923, formed a region within one part of Nagorno-Karabakh, leaving rather large regions outside it - Karvachar, Kashatagh, Kovsakan, Shaumyan and others

In the 60s of the last century, the attempts and petitions of a number of representatives of the Armenian intelligentsia of Artsakh to reunite the NKAR with the Motherland were suppressed by Azerbaijani state security officers, and the leadership of the USSR left this unanswered. As a result of various kinds of pressure and persecution, many of them were forced to leave their native land.

Thus, even after Nagorno-Karabakh was annexed by Azerbaijan in 1923, Artsakh Armenians were always guided by the ideological drive of reunification with Mother Armenia.

         Glory and honor to the grateful people of that generation of intellectuals.

Dear attendees,

         35 years ago this day was marked by the political and legal peak of the Karabakh movement. Expressing the will and desire of the absolute majority of the population of the Armenian Autonomous Territory, the deputies of the regional council of the highest representative body of the NKAO at an extraordinary session of the 20th convocation adopted a historic decision to withdraw the NKAO from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic and reunite with the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic. By this decision, the National Liberation Movement of Artsakh moved to legal platform.

In response to this, Armenophobia and a thirst for revenge against the Armenians of Artsakh flared up with renewed vigor in Azerbaijan. Rejecting the petition of the regional council of the NKAR, with the connivance of the authorities of the USSR, in the conditions of pronounced criminal inaction and negligence, Azerbaijan carried out pogroms in Sumgayit, followed by the massacre of the Armenian population of Kirovabad, Shamkhor, Shamakhi, Baku and other settlements of Azerbaijan. About half a million people became refugees.

Artsakh Armenians were adamant. Having chosen a new tactic, they continued the struggle with the persistence inherent in the ethnic way of life. After Azerbaijan declared its independence, on September 2, 1991, at the joint session of the regional and Shahumyan district councils of deputies in Stepanakert, a decision was made to adopt the Declaration of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic in full compliance with the fundamental norms and principles of international law.

The adoption of the Declaration of Independent Statehood was confirmed by the results of a nationwide referendum held on December 10, 1991, during which the vast majority of the population voted for complete independence from Azerbaijan.

Contrary to the peaceful implementation of the constitutional right of our people to self-determination, Azerbaijan has chosen the path of using force. A full-scale war was imposed on Karabakh.

The first Azerbaijani-Karabakh war of 1992-1994 ended with the destruction of Azerbaijani military strongholds that surrounded our newly independent state, and the liberation of territories, which made it possible to significantly reduce the military possibilities of enemy attacks on our settlements and provide a security zone.

After signing the Bishkek tripartite agreement on May 12, 1994, Azerbaijan, however, did not abandon the idea of resolving the Karabakh problem by military means.

The April 2016 war unleashed by the Azerbaijani authorities and the 2020 autumn war with the participation of Turkey and international terrorist forces confirmed the undisguised and far-reaching insidious intentions of the Azerbaijani military-political leadership - to rule Artsakh without Armenians.

We bow our heads before our brave soldiers who died in all Artsakh wars. Let's honor their eternal memory with a minute of silence.

/minute of silence/

Thank you.

Dear attendees,

The autumn precedent 2020 and the unprecedented scale of war put us in front of serious challenges. We are faced with the imperative to learn lessons from the past and sum up what happened.

 At the moment, the priority task is to ensure the reliable security of the country, which is carried out by the peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation and the forces of the Defense Army of the Republic of Artsakh.

It is a good opportunity to thank the Russian Federation for the peacekeeping mission from this podium. It must also be admitted that the peacekeeping forces are not able to fully implement the obligations assumed by the tripartite agreement of November 9, 2020.

The problems facing the Artsakh Republic deepened in the post-war period. The authorities are doing their best to provide housing for tens of thousands of occupied territories, improve their employment and social conditions.

This is an opportunity to thank the Russian Federation for its peacekeeping mission from the podium. It should also be recognized that the peacekeeping forces are not able to fully fulfill the obligations assumed by the tripartite agreement of November 9, 2020.

Among the priorities is the rehabilitation of the paralyzed economy and infrastructure. However, from December 12, 2022, when Azerbaijan took Artsakh under siege, the implementation of those plans was disrupted. Taking advantage of the protracted situation of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Azerbaijan is trying to take advantage of the moment and reach the maximum as possible.

Aiming to carry out ethnic cleansing in Artsakh, Azerbaijan has caused an unprecedented humanitarian disaster, hoping to depopulate Artsakh.

I am sure that we will overcome these artificial difficulties as well. Our national pride is unwavering. No one can disrupt it. We are determined in our fight. The will of an Artsakh citizen to live and create in his historical homeland is irrevocable.

I am sure that we will overcome these artificially created difficulties. Our national pride is unshakeable. We are full of determination to fight. The indomitable will of the Turks to live and create in their historical homeland.

We celebrate the next anniversary of the Karabakh movement in a modest format, but let’s be sure that in the future we will celebrate all anniversaries of historical significance in a festive mood.

God bless the two Armenian republics.

Thank you.