Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic) Ashot Ghulyan on Monday addressed a letter to President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (PA) George Tsereteli and members of the PA Bureau, responding to the call to maintain the global ceasefire and to the statements on the nationwide elections held in the Republic of Artsakh. The letter particularly reads as follows:

“Your Excellency,

Dear colleagues,

On behalf of the National Assembly of the Republic of Artsakh, I welcome the support of the administration of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly to the call of the United Nations Secretary-General to maintain the global ceasefire.

The National Assembly of the Republic of Artsakh is certain that, during the fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic, it is necessary to relieve ourselves of the stereotypes and dividing lines of the past.

The Republic of Artsakh immediately responded to the call of the UN Secretary-General by reaffirming its commitment to strictly maintain the ceasefire regime in the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict zone on March 24. These days, any attempt to serve the situation created by the pandemic for own political agenda may lead to extremely dangerous consequences for the international community, and this is strictly condemnable.

The Republic of Artsakh is of the opinion that the crisis due to the novel coronavirus must not be used to restrict human rights, including the exercise of the right to vote and establish authorities through democratic elections.

In this context, the observations of the members of the Bureau of the OSCE PA regarding the recent elections held in Artsakh are deeply disappointing. Moreover, those observations radically differ from the position and evaluations of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs who, in their statement issued on March 31, 2020, “recognize the role of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh in deciding its future”. Such observations also contradict the several statements made by the administration of the OSCE PA according to which the OSCE PA supports the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs for a peaceful settlement of the Azerbajian-Karabakh conflict.

Dear members of the Bureau of the OSCE PA,

Elections are not new for the Republic of Artsakh and have been an integral part of the political life in the country since independence in 1991. Even the 1992 Helsinki Decision clearly states the fact that the selected representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh are party to the negotiations.

International mediators, as well as Baku, have maintained direct ties with the authorities of Artsakh established through elections. It is also necessary to mention that the Bishkek Protocol, which paved the way for the establishment of a ceasefire in May 1994, was signed by the selected representatives of all three parties, including the heads of parliaments of Artsakh, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Taking the opportunity, I would like to inform that the nationwide elections in the Republic of Armenia were competitive and free and in accordance with international standards. All necessary preventive actions were taken to prevent the spread of the coronavirus during the elections. As a result, the elections were competitive and free and saw a high voter turnout. Based on the data provided by the Central Electoral Commission, five political parties are represented in the National Assembly. Since none of the presidential candidates garnered the required number of votes, the second round of presidential elections was designated and was held on April 14.

It is also necessary to mention that, since 1991, several elections and referenda in Artsakh have been extremely difficult to hold, including amid bombardment by Azerbaijan.

Allow me to assure you that, as in the past, even today, the people and authorities of Artsakh stay true to their path to build a free, independent and democratic state and are ready to overcome any obstacle and challenge on that path.”