‘I published it so that the topic of Artsakh’s dissolution would no longer be discussed’ – Roman Yeritsyan

Today, on May 14, lawyer Roman Yeritsyan posted on Facebook a decree issued by the President of Artsakh, Samvel Shahramanyan, which invalidates Shahramanyan’s earlier decree from September 26, 2023, on the dissolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.

A published photo reveals that Samvel Shahramanyan signed a new decree on October 19, 2023, when he was already in Armenia. The decree states that the original decision on September 26 was made solely out of urgent necessity to ensure the physical security and vital interests of the people of Artsakh, given the difficult and complex military-political situation following the war unleashed by Azerbaijan.

The fact that the Republic of Artsakh has not been dissolved was first announced by Shahramanyan on October 20, 2023. The decree on the recognition of the dissolution of Artsakh as invalid was first published by Roman Yeritsyan. He claims that this decree or the decrees on the dissolution of Artsakh have no legal force.

If Shahramanyan’s decree dissolving the Republic of Artsakh has no legal force, why was another decree signed just days later to invalidate it, and why has the lawyer chosen to publish this decree now? Alpha News spoke with Roman Yeritsyan to address these questions.

“The first motive is that the Armenian authorities, speaking about Artsakh, refer to Samvel Shahramanyan’s September 26, 2023 decree on the dissolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. To prevent such speculation, the president followed a simple logic: if you consider that decree legally binding, then I issue another decree on the same platform, invalidating the previous one. The second motive is that criminal prosecutions have begun in Armenia against various officials of Artsakh regarding the exercise of certain powers. This decree is now being published to put an end to speculation and prevent further discussion of Artsakh’s dissolution.

If there is anyone who believes that the president of Artsakh is capable of or has issued a decree to dissolve the Republic of Artsakh, they must also recognize that he signed another decree nullifying the previous one.

I think that nothing will change after publishing this decree, but at least we will have public pressure. I believe nothing will change because immediately after the October 19, 2023 decree was issued, an official letter was sent to Nikol Pashinyan informing him of it—but we saw the consequences,” Roman Yeritsyan said.