Asbarez: Territories Under Azeri Control are Considered ‘Occupied,’ Says Artsakh Parliament

Emil Lazarian 2021

March 1,  2021



Artsakh National Assembly

Artsakh’s National Assembly issued a statement Monday, emphasizing that Artsakh territories currently under Azerbaijan’s control are considered to be occupied by Azerbaijan.

Artsakh legislature stressed that the aggression carried out by Azerbaijan against the Artsakh Republic and the occupation of the said territories cannot have any legal impact on the status of the Artsakh Republic and the process of determining the borders during future negotiations.

The statement says:

The National Assembly of the Artsakh Republic reaffirms that:

  • On September 2, 1991 the independence of the Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) Republic was declared on the basis of USSR legislation and norms of international law.
  • The Republic of Artsakh pushed back on the aggression unleashed by the Republic of Azerbaijan from 1992 to 1994, which were accompanied by numerous violations of international humanitarian law.
  • The Artsakh Republic, as a party to the conflict, participated in various negotiations within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group between 1992 and 2020 to ensure regional stability and peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict.
  • On September 27, 2020, the Republic of Azerbaijan, in violation of its commitment before the OSCE Minsk Group and the co-chairing countries to renounce the use of force, launched a large-scale military attack against Artsakh, which saw thousands of our compatriots killed, both among the civilian population and the Defense Army, and deliberately destroyed the civilian infrastructure and cultural heritage of the Artsakh Republic.

Based on the aforementioned realities, the National Assembly of the Artsakh Republic announces that:

1. The territories of the Artsakh Republic that have passed under the control of Azerbaijan so far are considered to be occupied by the Republic of Azerbaijan.
2. The aggression carried out by Azerbaijan against the Artsakh Republic and the occupation of the mentioned territories cannot have any legal impact on the status of the Artsakh Republic and the process of determining the borders during future negotiations.

Emil Lazarian

“I should like to see any power of the world destroy this race, this small tribe of unimportant people, whose wars have all been fought and lost, whose structures have crumbled, literature is unread, music is unheard, and prayers are no more answered. Go ahead, destroy Armenia . See if you can do it. Send them into the desert without bread or water. Burn their homes and churches. Then see if they will not laugh, sing and pray again. For when two of them meet anywhere in the world, see if they will not create a New Armenia.” - WS