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The Armenian Foreign Ministry has denounced the arrests of Artsakh’s (Nagorno-Karabakh) current and former leaders by Azerbaijani authorities. Below is a statement issued by the ministry on Wednesday.

“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.

"Despite the dialogue with the representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh, the statements of high-ranking officials of Azerbaijan regarding the willingness to respect and protect the rights of Armenians, not to hinder their return to Nagorno-Karabakh, and on establishment of peace in the region, the law enforcement bodies of Azerbaijan continue arbitrary arrests.

The Republic of Armenia has repeatedly voiced, including at the UN General Assembly on September 23, the need to guarantee excluding such actions. On September 28, the Republic of Armenia has already appealed to the International Court of Justice to apply an interim measure in the case of Armenia against Azerbaijan under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), demanding from Azerbaijan to refrain from punitive actions against the current or former leadership or the military of Nagorno Karabakh.

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 and to address the issue both on a bilateral level with Azerbaijan and on various international platforms."