MOSCOW, January 1. /TASS/. A decree issued by President of the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh Samvel Shahramanyan, which dissolves the unrecognized state, entered into force on January 1.

The document was signed on September 28, nine days after tensions had flared up again in the region. The decree particularly urged the Karabakh population to consider the terms of reintegration in Azerbaijan offered by Baku or stay put if they choose to do so.

Tensions in Nagorno-Karabakh rose again on September 19, 2023, but a ceasefire agreement was reached the next day. Azerbaijani officials and representatives of Karabakh Armenians met in the Azerbaijani city of Yevlakh on September 21 to discuss reintegration issues. On October 15, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev raised the country’s flag in Khankendi (Stepanakert), Nagorno-Karabakh.

According to the Armenian government, over 100,000 internally displaced persons have relocated to Armenia from Nagorno-Karabakh, whose population stood at about 120,000 until recently.