Six years after the 9 November 2020 statement, the Artsakh Public Council demands answers from Moscow and Yerevan
- Published
- Place
- Yerevan, Armenia
- Event date
- Past event —
Summary
On the sixth anniversary of the trilateral statement of 9 November 2020, which ended the 44-day war, the Public Council of the Republic of Artsakh published two open letters on 9 November. The first, addressed to the Russian embassy in Yerevan, asks Moscow to explain why its peacekeepers prevented neither the blockade of the Lachin corridor, nor Azerbaijan’s offensive of 19 September 2023, nor the forced departure of Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenians. It also questions the legal basis for the contingent’s withdrawal in 2024, before its initial five-year mandate expired. The second, addressed to the Armenian government, demands public commitments on the return of displaced people, the release of Armenians held in Azerbaijan and the protection of heritage. Both letters ask for a written reply.
Analysis
The council recalls that the 2020 statement also provided for the return of refugees under the supervision of the UN refugee agency, the exchange of prisoners and safe links between Armenia and Karabakh. It wants these points to become conditions for signing and ratifying the peace treaty with Azerbaijan, backed by international guarantees. In its view, the agreement initialled in Washington does not replace them, and dropping interstate lawsuits without guarantees would mean giving up means of protection.
Possible consequences
Neither the Russian embassy nor the Armenian government had responded publicly by the morning of 10 November.
