Today at the government I hosted the President of the Artsakh [(Nagorno-Karabakh)] Republic, Arayik Harutyunyan. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of the Republic of Armenia (RA) wrote this on Facebook Wednesday, and, also, posted a respective video.

Pashinyan noted in his speech: "The first anniversary of the 44-day war is coming to an end, and of course, this work has not stopped during this period either, but it is important to analyze the work we have done during this year and to assess the situation. We will discuss these issues during our meeting today.

It is important to note that during this period the Artsakh government, together with the RA government, has succeeded in carrying out very concrete work to restore normal life in Artsakh. Of course, we do not think that what has been done is satisfactory, and we should, of course, continue to work in that direction, replacing purely assistance programs with development programs.

Of course, it is also important that we have discussions at the working level on our future vision for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Of course, we consider it important that the full negotiation process within the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs be resumed where, as the Co-Chairs also have repeatedly stressed, the final and comprehensive settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the clarification of the status of Nagorno-Karabakh shall take place on the basis of the known principles, including the right of nations to self-determination. All these issues are on our joint work agenda."

In his turn, Artsakh President Arayik Harutyunyan noted: "The fact that we have not deviated from the path of a political solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and we continue to maintain Artsakh's right to self-determination as the main political direction, and international players, including the OSCE Minsk Group, continue to be mediators, and the right of nations to self-determination is also put on the agenda in terms of Karabakh settlement.

Second, as a result of large-scale work, we are reaping the first fruits. By the end of the year, at least 300 newly built apartments will be commissioned in Stepanakert alone. Some of them are construction that started before the war, but, besides that, we also managed to lay the foundations of thousands of apartments today, and by the end of 2022 we will have completed at least 2,500 to 3,000 apartments— first of all, within the framework of the funds provided by the RA government to Artsakh, and towards the implementation of various programs with the funds raised by the Hayastan All Armenian Fund.”

Also, the Artsakh President thanked that a rather large sum of money is envisaged for Artsakh in the 2022 state budget of the RA, and that this will enable to carry out all the existing tasks in Artsakh.

"I am convinced that in 2-3 years we will completely solve the remaining housing and infrastructure and social problems. The normal life that exists in Artsakh is mainly conditioned by the money allocated by the RA government, and—why not—by the daily work that takes place.”