Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, emphasized key points regarding the protection of Artsakh Armenians' rights and Armenia’s security concerns in a letter addressed to the Armenian National Committee of Canada (ANCC), the ARF Central office reports.
In light of the ongoing sham trials of Armenian prisoners of war and former Artsakh leaders in Baku, Minister Joly strongly condemned Azerbaijan’s aggressive rhetoric and called for:
The unconditional release of all Armenian POWs and arbitrarily detained ethnic Armenians in Azerbaijan,
-Respect for Armenia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,
-The safe and dignified return of displaced Armenians to their homeland,
-Protection of Armenian cultural heritage,
-Resolution of the Artsakh issue through the OSCE Minsk Group process, in line with the Helsinki Final Act’s principles and the necessity of a just and lasting peace in the South Caucasus, based on the prohibition of force and threats, territorial integrity, and the right to self-determination.
On September 19, 2023, Azerbaijan launched a large-scale offensive against Artsakh, subjecting the entire region to intense shelling. A day later, on September 20, Artsakh authorities accepted the Russian peacekeeping mission’s proposal for a ceasefire, complying with Baku’s conditions, which included the disarmament of the Artsakh Defense Army and the dissolution of the Artsakh Republic. Starting September 24, a mass deportation of Artsakh Armenians began, with over 100,000 forcibly displaced to Armenia. According to some reports, only around 20 Armenians remain in Artsakh. On September 28, Artsakh President Samvel Shahramanyan signed a decree dissolving the republic, which took effect on January 1, 2024.
