In an interview with the French newspaper Le Figaro on March 27, Samvel Shahramanyan, the former head of the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), emphasized that the decree on the dissolution of the NKR served as the sole means to ensure the safe withdrawal of the Armenian population from Nagorno-Karabakh amidst Azerbaijan's aggression in September 2023.

Shahramanyan revealed that following Azerbaijan's aggression, efforts were made to establish communication with the Azerbaijani side to protect civilians from the conflict. After twelve hours of negotiations, a cessation of hostilities was achieved. Subsequently, the citizens of Artsakh, apprehensive for their safety, sought evacuation to Armenia, prompting a second round of negotiations.

During these negotiations, Baku proposed conditions necessitating the renouncement of rights, sovereignty, and symbols by the people of Artsakh. In response, Shahramanyan detailed how he initiated the signing of a decree dissolving the institutions of power and abolishing the NKR. However, he highlighted that for the decree to hold validity, it required approval through a parliamentary vote.

Understanding the decree's illegitimacy and unconstitutional nature, Shahramanyan described how he proposed an alternative: the dissolution announcement by the Karabakh President, effective January 1. Despite recognizing the procedural irregularities, he underscored that this approach was the only viable means to ensure the safe evacuation of their compatriots.

Nikol Pashinyan responds

On March 28, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan accused representatives of the unrecognized and self-rule Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, slated for dissolution on January 1, 2024, of posing threats to Armenia's security.

"Some circles forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh are taking steps that pose a threat to Armenia's national security. They claim that some governments are in exile and so on. I want to make it clear to everyone that there is one government in Armenia, and it is sitting in this hall," Pashinyan emphasized.

Pashinyan stressed the need for appropriate measures to prevent external forces from exploiting these circles to jeopardize Armenia. "Willfully or unwillingly, that's another question, but that also needs to be answered. I am not ready to make conclusions on this today," Pashinyan stated. The prime minister underscored that any assertion of being a "government" in Armenia directly impacts national security and should not result from deficiencies in the republic's law enforcement efforts. "Those who speak with messages have already had this opportunity, and we have seen what they have done with this opportunity," Pashinyan noted.

"Let's say someone rents an apartment and puts up (on the door) a sign saying that some government is here. I'm sorry, but such actions towards the state, which cross the boundaries of respect or disrespect and get a different logic, cannot go unanswered by the Republic of Armenia," the premier concluded.