The Armenian statehood is on the threshold of a new catastrophic war, which can lead to consequences no less severe than the 44-day war, Arayik Harutyunyan, president of Artsakh, said in a message on Monday.

"Given the looming threat, I am confident that the only solution, especially in the Republic of Armenia, is to unite the efforts of all major actors on the basis of unity, sincere dialogue and prudence," he said. Arayik Harutyunyan added that authorities always bear primary responsibility for the situation, but today a heavy responsibility lies on everyone because "we are facing a statehood threat and one of the reasons for that is internal dissociation".

According to him, international partners and the international community can only provide tools according to their interests, but "the solution to our problems depends mostly on us.

Arayik Harutyunyan noted that, unfortunately, in the conditions of fragile world order and regional upheavals nobody can give us long-lasting security guarantees. "Due to Russia's preoccupation and distraction, the guarantees of Russian peacekeepers have cracked, which Azerbaijan is taking advantage of. On the other hand, all external hostile forces are consistently undertaking military and information provocations in order to play down the role of Russian peacekeepers and to mistrust Russia among Artsakh people. I am confident that Artsakh people do not succumb to such provocations, a vivid example of which is the special attitude to the Russian peacekeepers in Artsakh. Despite geopolitical shifts and existing challenges, Russia continues to provide security for the people of Artsakh despite its fragility and relative stability. We hope that it will be possible to raise the effectiveness of the Russian peacekeeping mission and to ensure its indefinite presence in Artsakh as the most important guarantor of our security regardless of its incomplete character," he said.

Arayik Harutyunyan added that Artsakh's leadership will spare no effort to modernize its own security system and bring it in line with the challenges within its capabilities. "We wish peace and stability in the entire region, however, taking into account the Azerbaijani threat, we have the right and obligation to think about self-defense capabilities," he said.

The President of Artsakh believes that not only problems in Artsakh-Azerbaijan relations but also Armenia-Azerbaijan relations should be solved through negotiations, and Azerbaijan should also sincerely support this approach by respecting the interests and rights of all sides and the principle of non-use of force.

"No matter how many different difficulties and security risks may arise, the only way to keep Artsakh Armenian is to live and create in Artsakh, and in addition to international and state security guarantees, every resident of Artsakh must also be willing to take his part of the risk and responsibility to keep Artsakh Armenian. Thousands of our brothers and sisters have sacrificed their dearest for this," he said.