16:20, 1 April, 2022
YEREVAN, APRIL 1, ARMENPRESS. A regular sitting of the Security Council under the chairmanship of President of the Artsakh Republic Arayik Harutyunyan was held in an expanded format, the Presidential Office said.
In his opening remarks, the President of Artsakh first and foremost noted that the frequent holding of Security Council sittings recently is conditioned by the military-political situation in the republic, especially by the developments in the eastern part of Artsakh.
Touching upon the carried out actions and future plans, President Harutyunyan expressed his appreciation to the Defense Army, other power structures and the volunteers, who managed to fulfill the set tasks in a short period of time, suspending the enemy's advance.
“We understand that their goal was to capture the whole of Karaglukh. We should state that the main height of Karaglukh, the highest point, is under our control, but as of today some important hills are under the control of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. Our goal is to withdraw the Azerbaijanis to their original positions. Our demand and request to the peacekeeping troops was that the status quo stemming from the trilateral statement should be restored. We will never change this claim," President Harutyunyan said.
Arayik Harutyunyan expressed confidence that the purpose of the provocation fomented by Azerbaijan was first of all aimed at discrediting the role of the Russian peacekeeping forces.
"We consider that the Russian peacekeeping forces continue to carry out their mission, notwithstanding that episode," A. Harutyunyan said.
However, the Artsakh Republic President stressed that vigilance should be maintained at a high level until it is clear that Azerbaijan will not resort to such provocations again.
"For that very reason, we will take radical and decisive steps in terms of our self-defense in the future," President Harutyunyan said.
Minister of Defense Kamo Vardanyan delivered a report on the current operative-tactical situation on the line of contact.
During the discussion of the issues on the agenda, President Harutyunyan gave a number of instructions to the responsible officials of the relevant structures.