Karabakh Dissolution Decree Annulled

Samvel Shahramanian has annulled his September 28 decision to liquidate the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, an aide to the exiled Karabakh president revealed on Friday.

A decree signed by Shahramanian disbanded all government bodies and said that the unrecognized republic, which had been set up in September 1991, would cease to exist on January 1. It came just over a week after Azerbaijan’s military offensive that forced Karabakh’s small army to lay down weapons and restored Azerbaijani control over the region.

Speaking in Yerevan on October 20, Shahramanian said he had to sign the decree in order to stop the hostilities and enable the Karabakh Armenians to safely flee their homeland. Karabakh lawmakers likewise said early this month that the decision demanded by Baku helped to prevent a “genocide.”

Shahramanian’s adviser, Vladimir Grigorian, told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service that the Karabakh leader invalidated the controversial decree on October 19.

“This means that the Republic of Artsakh, its government, and other bodies will continue to operate after 2023,” he said, adding that all senior Karabakh officials will keep performing their duties without getting paid.

“We can consider the September 28 decree null and void,” stressed Grigorian. He did not say why its invalidation was not made public earlier.

The development may put Karabakh’s leadership now based in Yerevan at odds with Armenia’s government. Political allies of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian have said in recent weeks that Karabakh government bodies should be dissolved following the region’s recapture by Azerbaijan and the resulting exodus of its ethnic Armenian population. Parliament speaker Alen Simonian claimed on November 16 that their continued activities would pose a “direct threat to Armenia’s security.”

In its December 10 statement, the Karabakh legislature balked at attempts to “finally close the Artsakh issue” while signaling its desire to discuss them with Pashinian’s government.

On Tuesday, Pashinian he gave more indications that the Karabakh issue is closed for his administration. “As I said, I am the prime minister of Armenia and must advance Armenia’s national interests,” he said in televised remarks.

azatutyun.am