On August 31, Arayik Harutyunyan,  the de-facto President of the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh, stated that he will resign next Friday.

According to Harutyunyan, his biography and Azerbaijan's attitude towards him create artificial problems in terms of further steps and flexible policy. "In addition, the defeat in the 44-day war in the fall of 2020 and the post-war difficulties have reduced trust in local authorities, particularly the Nagorno-Karabakh president, which hinders further good governance. Because of this, the head of the republic decided to start the changes with himself," Harutyunyan explained.

"This is a final decision; I made it two days ago, considering my contacts with internal and external actors and the general public in recent weeks. It is exclusively mine, a balanced decision based on the analysis of the data available to me," the de-facto Karabakh leader noted.

Notably, before his resignation, Harutyunyan dismissed Gurgen Nersisyan, de-facto Nagorno-Karabakh State Minister, from his post. He was replaced by Samvel Shahramanyan, the de-facto Secretary of the unrecognized republic's Security Council, who has been given broad powers. Samvel Shahramanyan, who is set to assume leadership in Karabakh, has been a significant figure in developing the region’s state system. He is not affiliated with any specific faction under the current leadership of Stepanakert, but he is alleged to have good relations with the former head of Karabakh, Bako Sahakyan.

Araik Harutyunyan՛s decision to resign triggered strong reactions from the Armenian public.

Edgar Ghazaryan, a prominent political activist, strongly criticized the leaders of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, Nikol Pashinyan and Arayik Harutyunyan, for what he perceives as “another treacherous step."

“The two biggest enemies of the Armenian nation have taken another treacherous step and fulfilled Ilham Aliyev’s new demand to decapitate the entire Artsakh [Nagorno-Karabakh] state administration system and to break down all institutions,” Ghazaryan wrote.

Ruben Mehrabyan, a political analyst and member of the pro-western “For the Republic” party, views the resignation of Araik Harutyunyan as a coup that serves the interests of Russia. He believes that it is intended to neutralize the activities of Russia’s rivals and goes against the interests of Armenia.

Areg Kochinyan, the president of the Research Center on Security Policy, argues that Harutyunyan’s resignation could mark the end of the tradition of having leaders elected by the Karabakh parliament, i.e., the resignation effectively dismantles the institution of the de-facto Karabakh president. 

Kochinyan's comment about the broader context suggests Russia may have an interest in drawing Armenia into the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, potentially to create a situation where Azerbaijan could attack the Syunik region, with the expectation that Russia would intervene to assist Armenia.