On the occasion of Artsakh Independence Day, Armenian President Armen Sarkissian and Artsakh President Bako Sahakyan visited the Stepanakert War Memorial and paid their respects to those who died during WWII and the Artsakh War.

The memorial, in the Artsakh capital, was originally built to honor the thousands of Artsakh residents who died in the Great Patriotic War (WWII).

“Today is not only Independence Day, but a day of victory and of confidence in the future. This is the day when our Armenia people regained it pride, the sweet emotion of victory and trust, regarding its own forces and in its future,” Sarkissian told reporters in Stepanakert.

Sarkissian is on a working visit to Artsakh.