Some 10.000 civilians, who make up over 7 percent of Artaskh population, were forced to leave their settlements near the frontline. Prime Minister of Nagorno Karabakh Arayik Harutyunyan noted in his speech delivered during the ceremony dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the NKR’s Independent which was held in the US Congress.

“The regular lifestyle of Talish village was distorted as a result of the Azerbaijan atrocities, as the inhabitants have not yet returned to their native village due to security concerns. However, we are making efforts to renovate Talish. The war also had direct and indirect negative effects on the economy as well. The direct damage is estimated to over $ 20 million and the indirect damages will be felt for a long time,” NKR MP noted.

Harutyunyan reminded the congressmen that the Azerbaijan side mobilized thousands of special force servicemen, more than 10 helicopters, hundreds of tanks and artillery, rocket launch systems including forbidden weapons.

“Our army managed to resist the sudden aggression unleased by Azerbaijan defending our population from massacre and relocation. However the Azerbaijani forces managed to commit war crimes and other crimes against humanity. Particularly in Talish village they brutally tortured and killed three civilians including a 90-yaer old woman. Using the ISIS methods they beheaded three of our soldiers and tortured and mutilated the bodies of over 20 Armenian servicemen both alive and dead,” A. Harutyunan presented the atrocities committed by the adversary.

He underscored that a few days following the crimes the Azerbaijani president gave awards and glorified the criminals.

“Moreover, the Azerbaijani artillery was intentionally targeting the civil settlements of Karabakh, which resulted to the death of a child who was on his way to school. The continuation of that policy was the statement released by the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry claiming that they were going to shell Karabakh’s capital city Stepanakert. Baku’s aggression in April was a terrorism committed and praised on the state level, which, unfortunately, again was not condemned properly by the international community,” NKR PM noted in his speech.

He noted that four days after the Azerbaijani aggression, the official Baku requested a ceasefire from the Armenian side due to the painful retaliatory actions by our army, as well as the Azerbaijani failures and suffered losses. “However we also suffered significant human and material losses as well.”

Turning to the conflict resolution efforts, he welcomed the efforts made by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs directed towards the stabilization of the situation and the settlement of the conflict.

He expressed his gratitude to the seven US states, namely Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine, Louisiana, California, Georgia and Hawaii, for the protection of the rights of Karabakh people and the independence of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic.

Once more he underscored the conflict must be resolved through peaceful means without use of force or threat. Meanwhile it is unacceptable and impossible to reach a peaceful settlement of the conflict without the equal and full participation of the main side of the conflict_ Nagorno Karabakh.

“It must be stated that our inclination to settle the conflict exclusively through peaceful means does not mean that we are weak or are not ready for a new war. No, friends, the army of Artsakh has enough capacity and combat readiness to confront any attack towards our people which is our sacred duty and responsibility. We simply value human life and like the entire civilised society, we think that it is possible and obligatory to settle the conflict peacefully. I believe you realize that this stance of the NKR is not only in our favour, but also in favour of the Azerbaijani people. Moreover, due to our commitment to peace we can confidently state that Artsakh is a reliable partner for the international community ensuring peace and stability in the region,” he said.