Collective return of Artsakh people to their native lands inalienable  right, and ignoring it is continuation of Azerbaijan-committed  genocide - statement 

ArmInfo. The collective return of the people living in the territory of the Republic of Artsakh to their native lands is an inalienable and absolute right,  the ignoring of which means the continuation of the genocide  committed by Azerbaijan. This is stated in the statement of the  National Assembly of the Republic of Artsakh on the occasion of the  34th anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic of  Nagorno-Karabakh /Nagorno-Karabakh Republic/ (Artsakh).

"September 2, 2025 marks the 34th anniversary of the proclamation of  the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh.  This date is not only a  historically memorable day for the Armenian people, but also a  testament to the right to self-determination and a peaceful life  based on international law. This decision, which is of national  importance, was made on historical and legal grounds.

September 2, 1991 marked the beginning of the statehood of Artsakh.  For thirty years, on a solid constitutional foundation and with  effectively functioning state and democratic institutions, the people  of Artsakh ensured the development of the second Armenian republic.  Although the Republic of Artsakh did not have international  recognition, it was an established state system and a source of peace  and security in the region, which was reckoned with not only by  regional powers, but also by various centers with international  weight.

The war of 2020, and then the genocidal actions carried out by  Azerbaijan in September 2023, the complete occupation and  de-Armenianization of the territory of the Republic of Artsakh went  down in human history as a black and a shameful page where the right  to self-determination and free life was sacrificed to force, economic  and totalitarian interests.

We remember and bow before all those who defended the right of the  people of Artsakh to a free life with their lives. As every person  with a national mindset, for the sake of restoring historical  justice, we are obliged to continue the struggle and join the ranks  of the national liberation movement of the Armenian people. Today,  when the state structures of Artsakh are in exile, and the people are  deprived of their native land, the National Assembly of Artsakh - as  the highest representative body, endowed with a primary mandate and  expressing the will and position of the entire population of the  republic, considers it necessary to once again emphasize and remind  the international community:

The proclamation of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is based on the  laws of the then Soviet Union, therefore it is legal and cannot be  questioned in the light of pressure and arbitrary interpretations by  dictatorial forces.

The Armenian national cultural and religious values, formed over  thousands of years in the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh  /Nagorno-Karabakh Republic/ (Artsakh) and the adjacent territories,  are part of the universal civilization, and their preservation and  care are an integral part of the functions of the relevant  international structures.

The collective return of the people living in the territory of the  Republic of Artsakh to their native lands is an inalienable and  absolute right, ignoring which means continuing the genocide  committed by Azerbaijan.  The mandate of the OSCE Minsk Group also  includes the issue of the rights of the people of Artsakh, therefore,  its dissolution without the development of effective mechanisms and  guarantees for the protection of these rights is unacceptable.

Based on the above, the National Assembly of the Republic of Artsakh  demands from the authorities of the Republic of Armenia and calls on  international competent organizations and mediating countries to make  the issues of the release of prisoners and hostages, the return of  Artsakh Armenians to their homes and ensuring the right to a free,  safe and dignified life in their historical homeland the subject of  negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Real peace and long-term stability in the region require solutions  based on justice, balanced and acceptable to the parties, and not  temporary situational compulsions built on violence and geopolitical  trade.

The Artsakh problem has not been resolved, the Artsakh issue is not  closed, since the ratification of genocidal actions and the  legitimization of their consequences cannot be considered as a final  result - in international written and unwritten legal and moral  planes.

The Artsakh resident is the master of his homeland, his history, his  spiritual and cultural heritage, his past and future, his rights and  his mission. "The National Assembly of the Republic of Artsakh,"  reads the statement, which we present in full text without  abbreviations.