YEREVAN, October 4. /TASS/. President of the unrecognized Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh Samvel Shahramanyan has arrived in Armenia, a source in his close circle told TASS.

"Samvel Shahramanyan is already in Armenia; he wasn’t detained," the source said.

According to recent reports, three former presidents of the unrecognized state - Arkady Gukasyan, Bako Sahakyan and Arayik Harutyunyan - have been detained in Nagorno-Karabakh by the Azerbaijani authorities, along with parliament speaker David Ishkhanyan, former foreign minister David Babayan, former army chief Levon Mnatsakanyan, former state minister Ruben Vardanyan and former army chief of staff David Manukyan.

Karabakh situation

On September 19, tensions flared up again in Nagorno-Karabakh. Baku announced the start of a military operation. Yerevan, in turn, described what was happening as "an act of large-scale aggression." Russia called on the parties to end the bloodshed and return to efforts to resolve the issue diplomatically. On September 20, a ceasefire agreement was reached through the mediation of Russia’s peacekeeping mission. Azerbaijani officials and representatives of Karabakh Armenians met in the Azerbaijani city of Yevlakh on September 21 to discuss reintegration issues.

President of the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh Samvel Shahramanyan signed a decree on September 28 to dissolve the unrecognized state from January 1, 2024. Its people were urged to consider the terms of reintegration in Azerbaijan, which were offered by Baku, and stay put if they choose to do so.

According to Yerevan, a total of 100,520 internally displaced persons have relocated to Armenia from Nagorno-Karabakh, whose population stood at about 120,000 until recently.