Artsakh president says state structures remain, right of return non-negotiable

By Siranush Adamyan

Artsakh President Samvel Shahramanyan said on Monday that all branches of government of the unrecognized republic—legislative, executive, and judicial—continue to exist, and that the question of having a president “is not closed.”

Speaking at Yerablur military cemetery in Yerevan during a ceremony marking the 34th anniversary of Nagorno-Karabakh’s declaration of independence, Shahramanyan told reporters that “if necessary, we will resolve the issue [of electing a president].”

Shahramanyan was elected president on September 9, 2023, after a constitutional amendment allowed the National Assembly to choose the head of state instead of direct elections. He replaced Arayik Harutyunyan, who had won a popular vote in April 2020 but resigned three years later.

Currently, Artsakh’s parliament in exile does not convene sessions, while Armenia’s government maintains there is only one legitimate government on its territory—that of the Republic of Armenia.

Shahramanyan reiterated that the right of Karabakh Armenians to return remains fundamental. Following a nine-month blockade, Azerbaijan launched a military offensive in September 2023, forcing the exodus of the entire Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh. “Our right to return to our birthplace, our homeland, is not up for denial,” he said. 

He stressed that both Armenia’s authorities and the international community have responsibilities in securing that right.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, however, has stated that the return of Karabakh Armenians is not on his political agenda, saying their future lies in Armenia.

Shahramanyan’s remarks come amid international recognition of the displaced population’s right to return. In March 2025, the Swiss parliament adopted a binding resolution mandating the government to host a peace forum on Nagorno-Karabakh, with the explicit aim of ensuring the “safe, collective, and dignified return” of Armenians to their homeland. The initiative has since led to the formation of a 19-member parliamentary committee tasked with advancing return mechanisms.

The European Parliament has also endorsed the principle in two resolutions passed in 2024, while the International Court of Justice ruled in November 2023 that Azerbaijan must allow the “safe, unhindered, and expeditious return” of displaced Armenians.

The Swiss-led effort has begun to gather international momentum. More than 110 members of the UK Parliament endorsed the initiative in June 2025, stressing the need to protect the rights and heritage of the displaced population. On July 1, Swiss lawmakers briefed members of the U.S. Congress on the peace initiative, calling the return of Karabakh Armenians not only a legal matter but also a moral imperative.

Minsk Group dissolution

The Artsakh leader also commented on the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group, the body that had mediated negotiations on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict for more than three decades. The OSCE Ministerial Council voted unanimously on September 1 to terminate the process, after Armenia and Azerbaijan jointly requested its closure. The move followed the August 8 U.S.-brokered declaration signed in Washington by Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, alongside the initialing of a bilateral peace agreement.

OSCE Chair-in-Office Elina Valtonen praised the decision as a “historic agreement,” while Secretary-General Feridun H. Sinirlioğlu called it proof of what diplomacy can achieve. But critics note that the Minsk Group failed to secure a just peace and that its end comes after Azerbaijan’s 2023 offensive resulted in the ethnic cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenians.

Armenia agreed to the group’s dissolution under pressure from Baku, which seeks to cement its victory and erase institutional references to Nagorno-Karabakh.