Berdzor [(Lachin)] will remain under our control; at the moment we are trying to persuade the people not to leave the town. Mushegh Alaverdyan, acting head of the administration of Kashatagh Region of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), stated this in a conversation with Armenian News-NEWS.am.

To our question as to whether the aforesaid information is reliable, as contradictory rumors are circulating these days, Alaverdyan confirmed that his information is reliable, but added that he cannot mention the source of this information.

Asked what security guarantees there are for the local Armenian population if they stay in Berdzor, Alaverdyan said that there are guarantees, but he could not elaborate on them now because he was in a hurry.

Berdzor has a population of 2,200, and some of the locals are leaving, whereas others are waiting for the final information.

Earlier, Davit Babayan, Adviser to the Artsakh President, had said that Berdzor town will remain part of Artsakh.

Hetq.am had spoken with some MPs from Armenia’s ruling My Step bloc, and they had said that they did not know what was to be decided regarding the Berdzor community in Artsakh's Kashatagh Region.

On November 9, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a joint statement on a complete cessation of hostilities— which Azerbaijan had launched on September 27—in and around Artsakh. Accordingly, Russian peacekeepers are deployed in the region to monitor the implementation of the ceasefire and the cessation of hostilities. But this statement also stipulates the handover of part of Artsakh lands to Azerbaijan.