By the end of this year, most residents of Nagorno-Karabakh [(Artsakh)], including of those now under Azerbaijani control, shall return to their homes, Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in an interview with TASS.

"We are working in this direction every day, and I am confident that it will be able to stabilize the situation," he said. “The President of Nagorno-Karabakh announced two days ago that 25 thousand people of Nagorno-Karabakh have already returned, and we are convinced that most of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh will return by the end of the year. And, of course, we are going to create all the necessary conditions for that."

"We have already made concrete decisions, and those decisions concern financial assistance to people who need it," the Armenian PM continued. "Two programs have already been adopted, and five more social programs will be adopted in the coming days. Of course, there are many houses that have been destroyed and restoration work needs to be started, but our idea is that first we need to provide urgent financial assistance to these people so that they can meet their primary needs to return to Nagorno-Karabakh. Now I can say that we can see how this process is really happening, and this is really good news."

"It is very important to note that the Russian Federation also intends to take steps to ensure the return of Nagorno-Karabakh residents to their homes," Pashinyan added.

At the same time, the Prime Minister of Armenia answered in the affirmative to the question as to whether this also refers to the villages that came under the control of the Azerbaijani side. "Yes, it concerns the regions of Nagorno-Karabakh, and our joint statement envisages the return of those people to their homes," Pashinyan clarified.

"And in connection with this point, it is necessary to create special mechanisms, special security guarantees, it is necessary to ensure and organize this whole process; this process should become a priority for the negotiation process," he said.