In an address on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the start of the separatist Karabakh movement, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh are facing the most severe challenges.

"Our compatriots, even today, being in the blockade, are forced to express their will to protect their rights and ensure security. As I have said more than once, such actions by Azerbaijan pursue only goal: to break the will of the population of [the separatist] Nagorno-Karabakh, which, I am sure, is unbending," the head of government said. According to him, the Armenian side continues to increase its efforts to draw the attention of the international community to the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh since only the unrelenting activity [of the Armenian population of the unrecognized republic] can restrain the aggressiveness of the Azerbaijani side, force it to fully fulfill the obligations assumed by the tripartite statement of November 9, 2020, and unblock the Lachin corridor.

"At the same time, Armenia will continue to take consistent steps to solve socio-economic problems, solve security problems, create mechanisms for protecting the rights and ensuring the security of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh," Pashinyan noted. At the same time, the Armenian leader stressed that all efforts should be focused on promoting the peace agenda in the region.