The monument commemorating the victims of March 1 was opened in Yerevan

The monument commemorating the victims of March 1 was opened in Yerevan. The author of the sculpture is Albert Vardanyan, and it's called "Influence and Counteraction".  At the opening ceremony, RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan delivered a speech.

"March 1 is not a day of mourning. Of course, we mourn the fact of victims and commemorate their memory, but March 1 has a wider context. The struggle for the life of our brothers who died that day is about something else entirely. The struggle and sacrifices of March 1 have reached their destination because today falsifying elections in RA has already turned a page from which there will be no return, and its guarantor is the RA people," Pashinyan said.

It should be reminded that after the presidential elections held in Armenia on February 19, 2008, mass protests began in the country. The protests were led by Levon Ter-Petrosyan, the first president of RA.  he and his supporters did not agree with the results of the elections, according to which Serzh Sargsyan was elected president.  Demonstrators set up tents in Yerevan's Freedom Square and held marches and actions in different parts of the capital. On March 1, 2008, mass riots and clashes between protesters and the police took place, resulting in the death of 10 people. 2 of the victims were police officers.

To date, 173 POWs have returned from Azerbaijan to Armenia

As a result of the 44-day war and post-war events, the bodies (relics) of 422 dead Armenian servicemen were returned to the Republic of Armenia, of which 225 were killed in 2022, during the September events. The work of retrieving the bodies of 2 Armenian servicemen who died as a result of the September events continues.

In addition, as a result of the combat operations that took place on September 13-14, 2022, 1 officer and 1 conscript soldier of the Jermuk military unit were taken out of the territory under the control of Azerbaijan.

To date, 173 servicemen and civilians have been returned from captivity.

Representatives of Artsakh and Azerbaijan met today with the mediation of the Russian side

The question of restoring the unimpeded passage of cars through the Lachin Corridor and confirming the fact of the purposeful use of the corridor was discussed today at the tripartite meeting of the representatives of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh and the commander of the Russian peacekeeping force.

 The "Artsakhpress" news agency was informed about this by the command of the peacekeeping troops stationed in Artsakh.

 The parties also discussed the issues of the uninterrupted supply of electricity and gas.

 In addition, within the framework of the meeting, the possibility of monitoring the environment by the representatives of the Azerbaijani side in the Drombon and Kashen mines was discussed.

 Agreements were reached on further cooperation aimed at reducing tension and establishing peaceful life in the region.

Later, the Artsakh Ministry of Foreign Affairs commented on the meeting of the representatives of Artsakh and Azerbaijan. 

"The participants of the meeting did not discuss issues related to the political status of the Republic of Artsakh.  According to the results of the meeting, the comments made by the Azerbaijani side do not correspond to reality.
 
The Republic of Artsakh remains committed to the choice of the path of self-determination and independence of its people, which was fixed in 1991 during the referendum.
 
Similar discussions organized for the purpose of solving urgent issues, in particular, the lifting of the blockade of Artsakh, cannot replace full-fledged peace negotiations, which are necessary for the comprehensive settlement of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict. We proceed from the need to restore the international mediation format as an important guarantee of the irreversibility of the peace process.
 
We emphasize once again that the position of the Republic of Artsakh that the results of the illegal use of force and the threat of force by Azerbaijan cannot be a starting point for the establishment of peace, stability, and security remains unchanged," the statement of the Artsakh Foreign Ministry reads.

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