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MP Tigran Abrahamyan of the opposition Pativ Unem faction has hailed Sunday’s massive rally in Artsakh as a show of strong public unity.

Thousands of people gathered for a rally in Stepanakert’s Renaissance Square on Sunday, as members of the local parliament unanimously adopted a statement rejecting any peace deal that would make Artsakh a part of Azerbaijan.

“Artsakh has never been and will never be part of independent Azerbaijan. This very idea should be the basis for the settlement of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict,” said the statement. “Any attempt to forcibly annex Artsakh to Azerbaijan would be a gross violation of international law and an official license to commit another genocide against the Armenian people, therefore any document with such a content is unacceptable for the Republic of Artsakh.”

Abrahamyan reiterated the need for a regime change in Armenia to stop the “process of making Artsakh a part of Azerbaijan”, and open up new opportunities for Yerevan and Stepanakert to struggle.

“Second, we should realize that without a change of government in Armenia, it will be very difficult for Artsakh and the Armenians of Artsakh. But even in this case, all those who realize that the existence of the Armenian statehood depends on Artsakh must find ways to support and join its struggle,” the MP wrote on Facebook on Monday.

“This extremely difficult process must also be considered from Azerbaijan's perspective. Is Azerbaijan ready to accept the determination of Artsakh's clear status or the self-determination process? Definitely not.

“Therefore, we have to be prepared for a tough counteraction from Azerbaijan. How this will affect one stage or another depends on a large number of factors, but the fact that Azerbaijan will attempt to prevent the fight is highly likely.

“Will the surrender of Artsakh or the failure of the struggle stop Azerbaijan from making territorial claims to Armenia and using force? Absolutely not.

“Thus, the struggle for the sake of Artsakh and Armenia has no alternative, another matter is which way it will go, who will lead it and how the events will unfold,” Abrahamyan said.