Announcement: Azerbaijan must withdraw its troops both from the sovereign territories of the Republic of Armenia and of Artsakh to the positions as of November 9, 2020

We, the participants of the rally for the defense of Armenia and Artsakh, regardless of our ideological and political orientations, resolutely reject the agendas imposed by the Turkish-Azerbaijani tandem.

To create the preconditions for peace, Azerbaijan must return Armenian prisoners of war, hostages, other detainees, those sentenced to imprisonment, withdraw its troops from both the sovereign territories of Armenia and Artsakh to the positions as of November 9, 2020.

We, the participants of the rally, declare that we are guided by the following basic principles.

• affirm, that the Republic of Armenia is the guarantor of the security of the people of Artsakh and the fulfillment of the right to self-determination with all components.

• exclude any status of Artsakh within Azerbaijan.

• exclude the enclave state of Artsakh without a reliable land connection with Armenia.

• take measures to restore the negotiation process in the format and goals fixed by the decision of the OSCE Summit, 1994.

• exclude the provision of corridors under the guise of unblocking the means of communication at the expense of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Armenia.

• exclude the signing of any interstate treaty and any demarcation and delimitation process in the face of the threat of use of force by Azerbaijan.

• not to sign any treaty with Azerbaijan that would impede the fulfillment of Artsakh’s right to self-determination without restrictions.

• exclude any agreement in Armenian-Turkish relations, which will question the factuality of the Armenian people’s deprivation of homeland and genocide, as well as the right to be the possessor of the spiritual and cultural heritage of the Armenians.

These principles are in the vital interests of the Armenian people, so any government must be guided by this agenda and ensure its implementation.

The nomination of this agenda does not mean war, but willingness to establish a tangible, fair and dignified peace, taking into account the vital interests of the Armenian people.

Failure to implement the presented principles will inevitably lead to a nationwide legitimate counteraction by all possible means and methods.

This announcement is open to individuals, NGOs and parties sharing the mentioned agenda.

Freedom Square
April 5, 2022