The Baku trial of Artsakh former military-political leaders continued today, focusing on Davit Ishkhanyan, the last president of the Artsakh parliament.

Only Azerbaijani state-conrolled media are present at the trial. Thus, it’s impossible to verify the statements attributed to those now on trial.

According to AzerTaj, Azerbaijan’s State News Agency, Ishkhanyan said he was an active member of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun and was the leader of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun faction in the Artsakh parliament for two years. Ishkhanyan also said that he joined the first Artsakh war in the summer of 1992 as a member of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun party.

Ishkhanyan said that in the 1990s Serzh Sargsyan and Samvel Babayan conducted the self-defense committee, but he could not say anything about the management mechanism.

He noted that during the first Artsakh War he commanded a local battalion and reported to his superior, Monte Melkonyan.

"There were eight battalions in Martuni, one of which I commanded. Monte Melkonyan commanded the eight battalions, and the army commander was Samvel Babayan," said Ishkhanyan.

He told the court that during the second Artsakh War (2020) he visited one of the military units of the Martuni region. "My youngest boy served there, and he also made my duty to do so," said David Ishkhanyan.

He noted that he was awarded the "Combat Cross" for his military activities.

The Azerbaijani state prosecutor said that David Ishkhanyan, at an August 30, 2023 press conference, declared that he sent open letters to the parliament speakers   of Russia, Iran, France, the United States, and several European countries, calling for pressure on Azerbaijan. The prosecutor asked Ishkhanyan to reveal the content of these letters.

"Yes, I have sent such letters, but I don't know if those letters reached their destination,” Ishkhanyan replied.

Ishkhanyan was then asked, “what was the goal of Armenia's military aggression against Azerbaijan.” Ishkhanyan replied: "I can't talk about this period, because I was very young. But when I became an adult, I realized what the strategic goals and principles were. The strategic goal was to unite Artsakh with Armenia. "

Ishkhanyan also spoke about his dealings with former Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan and Vardanyan’s visit to a hotel he owned.

"I met Ruben Vardanyan in 2010 or 2011. He loved to visit our hotel. He had meetings at the hotel until he became a state minister," said Ishkhanyan.

He noted that his birth certificate shows that he was born in the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic, but that he is a citizen of the Republic of Armenia.

"After the collapse of the Soviet Union, like 150,000 Armenians, I also accepted RoA citizenship. It’s written in my RoA passport that is now in the possession of the investigative agency,” Ishkhanyan said.