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Political analyst Hrant Melik-Shahnazaryan has called on exiled Artsakh President Samvel Shahramanyan to sign a decree annulling his decision to dissolve the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Republic despite all “threats and warnings”.

The document signed by Shahramanyan on September 28 ordered the dissolution of Nagorno-Karabakh's state institutions by January 1, 2024.

At a meeting on Friday, he announced that the Artsakh dissolution decree was invalid. "There is no document of the Republic of Artsakh envisaging the dissolution of its government institutions,” Shahramanyan stated.

In an open letter to the Artsakh president on Monday, Melik-Shahnazaryan said the “huge flow of threats and warnings” he faced after his statements could be predicted.

“They seek to finalize the demise of the Artsakh Republic with their dirty work on January 1, 2024," the political analyst noted.

"By God's will, only you can thwart the plans of the internal and external enemy today. Yes, it is an extremely difficult and risky decision, but it is also an honorable one. You ought to annul your decree to dissolve the Republic of Artsakh. Do not listen to the lawyers or various officials!  Do not succumb to the threats! Fulfill your mission to defend the Artsakh Republic!

“The text of your next decree to void the September 28 document should be made available to the public. It should be disseminated through the same platforms that were used to circulate the ill-fated document imposed on Artsakh. Tricks and puns will not be accepted. Nor will the claims that the decree on the dissolution of the Artsakh Republic was just a useless piece of paper be accepted. I assure you that it was this "document with no legal force" that became the last straw forcing our compatriots to leave Artsakh.

"We all understand that the annulment of the September 28 decree will not solve the problems facing Artsakh and its people. But at the same time, we all know that without this step Artsakh has no future. You must preserve the last chance of people to fight for the second Armenian state. Nothing will be possible without your new decree. It will amount to full capitulation. It will mean that Aliyev and Pashinyan were right in this story and they defeated you,” reads the letter.