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Today, September 2, marks the 28th anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh Republic, NKR).

On this day in 1991, a joint session of the Nagorno Karabakh regional council and the council of people’s deputies of Shahumyan Region was held in Stepanakert, where the Declaration of Independence was adopted. On 10 December of the same year a referendum was held to confirm Artsakh’s independence. On that day, 99% of the country’s population voted for independence.

International recognition of its independence is one of the key priorities of the foreign policy of the Artsakh Republic. The Karabakh people expressed their determination to build and strengthen their statehood based on democratic norms twice; in the independence referendum on December 10, 1991 and the constitutional referendums on December 10, 2006 and February 20, 2017.

The successes registered in the state-building process led to certain positive developments in the process of international recognition of the NKR independence.

The international recognition of Artsakh along with being an additional stimulus for the further development and strengthening of the statehood of Artsakh and, in particular, its democratic institutions, will also have a positive impact on the settlement of the conflict between Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabakh.

The international recognition will assure the irreversibility of the peaceful settlement process and will make it possible to focus on the creation of necessary mechanisms and conditions for peaceful coexistence of two sovereign states – the Nagorno Karabakh Republic and the Republic of Azerbaijan, established as a result of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the war forced by Azerbaijan.

A number of events, including an exhibition of carpets and books and concerts, are planned on the Artsakh Republic Day.