YEREVAN, October 4. /TASS/. Armenia will take all possible measures to defend the rights of illegitimately detained Nagorno-Karabakh leaders in international organizations, including courts, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on its website.

"We strongly condemn the arrests by Azerbaijan of the leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh Arkadi Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, Arayik Harutyunyan, Davit Ishkhanyan, Ruben Vardanyan and others," the Armenian diplomatic agency said.

"The Republic of Armenia will take all possible steps to protect the rights of illegally detained representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh, including in international courts. We also call on international partners to be consistent in all their messages and appeals addressed to Azerbaijan on the protection of the rights and security of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh," the statement said.

According to the foreign policy agency, "Armenia has repeatedly voiced, including at the UN General Assembly on September 23, the need to guarantee excluding such actions." The statement mentions that on September 28, Armenia appealed to the International Court of Justice to apply an interim measure in its case against Azerbaijan, demanding to refrain from any punitive actions against the current or former leadership or military in Nagorno-Karabakh.

On September 19, tensions flared up again in Nagorno-Karabakh. Baku announced it was launching what it described as "local anti-terrorist measures" and demanded the withdrawal of Armenian troops from the region. Yerevan, in turn, said there were no Armenian forces in Karabakh, calling what was happening "an act of large-scale aggression." The Russian Foreign Ministry called upon the parties to the conflict to stop the bloodshed, end hostilities, prevent civilian casualties, and go back to trying to settle the Karabakh issue diplomatically. On September 20, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said that an agreement was reached with the participation of the Russian peacekeeping contingent to suspend anti-terrorist measures in Karabakh. On September 21, in the Azerbaijani town of Yevlakh, a first meeting was held between representatives of Azerbaijan and Karabakh’s Armenian residents in order "to discuss the issues of reintegration."

On September 28, Samvel Shahramanyan, president of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) signed a decree dissolving the unrecognized state effective January 1, 2024. The local ethnic Armenian population has been advised to consider the reintegration proposals being put forward by Baku and decide for themselves whether to remain or to relocate.