Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan issued the following statement to mark the 31st anniversary of the declaration of the Republic of Artsakh.

31 years ago on this day, the joint session of deputies of all levels of the Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Region and Shahumyan region decided to adopt the declaration of independence of Nagorno Karabakh by exercising their right to self-determination.

This decision of our compatriots was the answer to the existential threat they faced as evidenced by the massacres in Sumgait, Baku, Kirovabad. This decision was made as a guarantee for the protection of the security and rights of Artsakh Armenians.

The declaration of independence was followed by the referendum held on December 10, 1991, the first Artsakh war, the four-day war, and the 44-day war. The fact that our compatriots continue to live in Nagorno Karabakh or in a part of it, remains. And they have the right to live in their own home, in a safe environment where their rights will be protected. Basically, this is the essence of the Nagorno Karabakh problem.

All statements about the non-existence of Nagorno-Karabakh as a territorial unit and that the Nagorno-Karabakh problem has been resolved are irrelevant until the issues of security and protection of the rights of the Artsakh Armenians are irrevocably addressed and, accordingly, the issue of the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, for which the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs has a mandate approved, and not yet revoked, by international community.

The international community is obliged to make efforts to address the humanitarian problems caused by the 44-day war and to prevent the implementation of the policy of ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Republic of Armenia will continue to support the maintenance of normal life in Nagorno-Karabakh, security, and human rights protection issues. Today, we express our appreciation to those who embody Nagorno-Karabakh, and our task is to ensure their inalienable right to live and create peacefully through peaceful, civilized means, through negotiations.

Today, we humbly remember our brothers and sisters who were martyred for the protection of the rights of our compatriots in Nagorno-Karabakh, and our obligation to them is to ensure a peaceful Nagorno-Karabakh, a peaceful Armenia, a peaceful South Caucasus.