YEREVAN. – Representatives of a number of NGOs held a protest Friday outside the Russian embassy in Armenia.

Mariam Avagyan, coordinator of the Assembly of Refugees from Azerbaijan SSR, told 168.am that they had handed the embassy a letter in which a number of issues were raised, including removing Turkey from the Russian-Turkish monitoring group in the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) conflict zone because it is a genocidal country, and Azerbaijan should leave the occupied territories of Artsakh so that refugees and displaced persons can return to those territories. They stressed that the Azerbaijanis had militarily infiltrated the sovereign territory of Armenia, and they are expecting the CSTO to take some actions—not watch closely.

Avagyan said that they had recently met with the head of the PACE Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons, and informed that 14,000 refugees alone from Azerbaijan SSR had lived in the seven Artsakh regions now occupied by Azerbaijan. "We also called to immediately get the [OSCE] Minsk Group active, which is obligated to restore the status quo that existed until September 27, 2020 and to start the peace negotiation process," she added.