President Vahagn Khachaturyan's address on the adoption of the Declaration of Independence of Nagorno-Karabakh

Dear compatriots,

32 years ago on this day, the joint session of deputies of all levels of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast and Shahumyan region adopted the Declaration of Independence of Nagorno-Karabakh.

This decision was aimed at the exercise of the right to self-determination of our compatriots in Nagorno Karabakh and was also induced by the existential threat faced by the Armenian population of Nagorno Karabakh as a result of the aggressive and anti-Armenian policy of the Azerbaijani authorities.

32 years later, the Armenians of Artsakh are once again facing utterly serious challenges of life and security. The settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is possible only through introducing mechanisms to address and guarantee the rights to life and security of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Dear people,

Today, more than ever, our compatriots of Artsakh need the unification of the collective efforts of our people for a peaceful and safe Nagorno-Karabakh, and for the protection of the inalienable rights of the Karabakh Armenians to live and create in their home.

To achieve these goals, we should also firmly state that the comprehensive and long-term settlement of the conflict should take place exclusively through peaceful process, the use of the international community, and the Baku-Stepanakert dialogue.