Samvel Shahramanyan, the head of the unrecognized Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, signed on Thursday a decree to terminate the existence of the republic.
"Based on the priority of ensuring the physical security and vital interests of the people of Karabakh, taking into account the agreement reached through the mediation of the command of the Russian peacekeeping contingent with representatives of Azerbaijan that free, voluntary and unimpeded passage of residents of Nagorno-Karabakh, including military personnel who have laid down their arms, with their property is ensured on their vehicles along the Lachin corridor ... a decision was made: to dissolve all state institutions and organizations under their departmental subordination until January 1, 2024, and the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) ceases to exist," the decree read.
The decree goes into effect immediately after publication.
Azerbaijan and Armenia have fought two wars over Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous region wedged in between the two nations that was seeking independence from Baku. The decades-long conflict reignited in the fall of 2020, marking the worst escalation since the 1990s. Hostilities ended in a Russia-brokered ceasefire and the deployment of Russian peacekeepers to the region.
Yerevan and Baku began discussing a future peace treaty in 2022 with mediation from Russia, the European Union and the United States. In May, the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that Yerevan was ready to recognise Azerbaijan's territorial integrity within boundaries that include Nagorno-Karabakh. The President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, stated that a peace treaty could be signed by the year's end, provided Armenia does not alter its stance.