It is difficult to make a speech in a place where people are buried who sacrificed their lives, became heroes for the sake of us having the Republic of Armenia, having the Republic of Artsakh, so that we can celebrate the day of the declaration of the Republic of Artsakh today. Samvel Shahramanyan, the fifth President of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), stated this at the opening ceremony of the "Call of Artsakh" memorial at Yerablur Military Pantheon in Yerevan

"Unfortunately, we have found ourselves in a harsh reality. The reality is that Artsakh is considered a ‘noose’ around the ‘neck’ of the Republic of Armenia, from which it was necessary to get rid of so that they get the opportunity to preserve the independence, sovereignty of Armenia.

The people who rest here fell for the sake of Artsakh, fought for the sake of Artsakh, but unfortunately today their relatives and thousands of Artsakh residents are considered refugees in their homeland. And having found ourselves in this reality after the forced displacement of September 2023, having had numerous meetings with our compatriots, we have come to the conclusion that there is a need to have such a memorial in Yerablur, which will be dedicated to all the devotees of the struggle for the survival of Artsakh, will be dedicated to our compatriots who died as a result of the explosion of the [Artsakh] Defense Army warehouse, will be dedicated to our remaining graves in Artsakh,” said the president of Artsakh.

"I am convinced that this memorial will become a new sanctuary, not only for the [forcibly displaced Armenian] people of Artsakh. We will continue at this memorial our customs, our traditions that have become a tradition, visiting the memorial on holidays and memorial days, and why not also during other events, such as weddings. We must definitely keep in mind the hope and faith of our collective return [to Artsakh], and I am convinced that one day it will become a reality," Shahramanyan added, in particular.