Armenian MFA has issued a statement on the 28th anniversary of the occupation of Shahumian region of Artsakh.

The statement runs as follows:

These days mark the 28th anniversary of the occupation of the Shahumian region by the armed forces of Azerbaijan. In mid-June of 1992, the armed forces of Azerbaijan entirely occupied the Shahumian region and wiped out the Armenian population through mass atrocities. Following the ethnic cleansing, Azerbaijan resettled the region which had more than twenty Armenian settlements. Those parts of Martakert and Martuni region of Artsakh that were occupied by Azerbaijan shared the same destiny.

It is noteworthy that today Azerbaijani leadership presents ethnic cleansing committed against Armenians and the subsequent Azerbaijani resettlement of the territories under the control of Azerbaijan as the best solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. This reality emphasizes the security threats the people of Artsakh face today.

While condemning in the strongest terms the mass atrocities committed by Azerbaijan in Artsakh, we support the legitimate demands of the authorities of Artsakh with regard to the occupied Shahumian and the parts of Martakert and Martuni regions.