Armenian officials: “Nagorno-Karabakh Republic” is being abolished

Armenian officials announced that Samvel Shahramanyan, the president of the region that Armenia calls the “Nagorno-Karabakh Republic,” signed a decree to end the existence of all state institutions as of January 1, 2024.

According to the decree, the existence of the region called “Republic” will cease as of January 1.

While Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians continue to leave Karabakh after Azerbaijan defeated Armenian separatist forces last week, the number of people leaving the region has surpassed 65,000.

After separatist forces laid down their arms, the region is experiencing the largest migration movement since hundreds of thousands of Azeris left the region in the first Karabakh war 30 years ago.

Yesterday, Azerbaijan arrested a former minister of the ethnic Armenian separatist administration in Nagorno-Karabakh as he attempted to cross into Armenia. Ruben Vardanyan, a billionaire banker, was a minister in the separatist Karabakh government between November 2022 and February 2023. (Reuters)