The statement about the so called disbandment of the Defense Army by the President of Artsakh—and at the demand of the Azerbaijani side—does not correspond to reality. Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) President's spokeswoman Lusine Avanesyan told Artsakhpress about this.

"The Artsakh Defense Army has been and remains one of the main guarantors of the security of the Artsakh Republic. Right now our soldiers are standing at the [combat] position, facing the enemy. There is no issue on the agenda of the Artsakh authorities on the disbandment of the Defense Army. All discussions related to the Defense Army are linked to reorganization, rearmament, modernization, and other issues. We have a lot to do to build our future—and the army has a key role in that task," Avanesyan added.

During Thursday’s discussion at the National Assembly, Ashot Harutyunyan, a member of the board of the "Armenian population forcibly displaced from Shushi" NGO, had stated as follows: "The President of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Arayik Harutyunyan, has announced that he intends to disband the army. I asked him: ‘Who gave you such a right?’ to which he answered: ‘Azerbaijanis demand [it].’"