Artsakh President Arayik Harutyunyan during an interview with Public TV on Aug. 6

Artsakh President Arayik Harutyunyan has announced his intention to resign.

In a statement released on Thursday, Harutyunyan said he will resign on Friday.

“My background and Azerbaijan’s attitude towards it are artificially creating a number of conditions generating significant problems with regard to our further steps and flexible policy,” Harutyunyan said in a written statement.

“Also, the defeat in the war and the resulting difficulties that emerged in the country reduced trust in the authorities and especially the president, which represents a very serious obstacle to further good governance,” he added.

“I made this final decision two days ago, taking into account my contacts in the past weeks with all internal and external stakeholders, as well as the public,” he added.

Harutyunyan said he will continue to live in Artsakh with his family and will support the authorities.

“This step is aimed, among others, at ensuring strong public order and domestic stability in Artsakh. Despite all difficulties, our domestic stability and public solidarity are preconditions for all successes, and any deviation or attempted deviation from this must be ruled out,” he added.

Harutyunyan also signed an executive order on dismissing State Minister Gurgen Nersisyan and replacing him with Secretary of the Security Council of Nagorno-Karabakh Samvel Shahramanyan.

After Nersisyan’s dismissal, his advisor Artak Beglaryan also announced his resignation.