I am saddened to hear the statements—especially by high-ranking officials—that we, the people of Artsakh, are guests in the Republic of Armenia, Artsakh President Samvel Shahramanyan said at the Yerablur military pantheon.
“After 10 months of blockade and four months of complete siege, the Azerbaijani side resorted to military aggression, due to which we incurred casualties, and today we are here to pay tribute to those who fell, protecting their families at the cost of their lives. The events of September, the military operations, the fuel depot blast, which killed and injured hundreds of people, had rather serious consequences for us. As a result of military operations, the population was forced to leave their Homeland. We will always keep in our memory the names of those devotees who defended our Homeland at the cost of their lives and created an opportunity for more than 100,000 people to get out of the blockade,” Shahramanyan said.
Referring to the accusations and statements made by the Armenian authorities, Shahramanyan noted: “I am saddened to hear the statements—especially by high-ranking officials—that we, the people of Artsakh, are guests in the Republic of Armenia and that recognizing Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan is a victory for the Republic of Armenia. I have great doubts that all the members of the Armenian government think so, or that the people of Armenia think so. I think they should be kept accountable to the people who formed the government.”
