President of the Artsakh Republic Arayik Harutyunyan called an expanded session of the Security Council on Friday, the press service of the Artsakh President informed NEWS.am.

Harutyunyan noted that recent events in the country dictate the need to form a new agenda, as the Azerbaijani side, through a clear provocation, destabilizes the situation.

"The Russian-Ukrainian conflict assumed that the Azerbaijani side will use the opportunity and resort to various provocations in Karabakh. Both the gas supply disruptions, the invasion of the village of Parukh of Askeran and neighboring territories, and separate military operations showed that the Azerbaijani authorities do not respect either the trilateral statement signed in November 2020, or the political commitments they made in the same period.

Nevertheless, I would like to urge our people to remain calm, because despite the difficulties and obstacles, we continue to work with the Russian peacekeeping forces in Karabakh to stabilize the situation," the Artsakh president said.

Araik Harutyunyan expressed his deep condolences to the families of the victims on behalf of the Security Council and the authorities of the republic. He wished the wounded speedy recovery.

In his turn, Defense Minister Kamo Vardanyan presented a report on the situation on the line of contact.

A number of issues related to overcoming the existing challenges were discussed.