Is Sovereignty Respected in Stepanakert? - Ioannissian

Daniel Ioannissian, the head of the 'Informed Citizens' Union NGO, expresses his thoughts:

“It is clear that Armenia must maximally support the protection of the rights of the people of Artsakh. But what is the understanding of this from the perspective of Stepanakert?

Apart from unrealistic and science-fiction approaches, what solutions are the official authorities in Stepanakert considering?

Do the authorities in Artsakh understand that their people elected them, and that they should not just adopt an oppositional stance of 'Hurray-patriotism', but instead take real steps to ensure the security of their citizens?

They need to have an honest conversation with their people about realistic possibilities.

What do they envision? Continuing to live under Russian hegemony (with deteriorating conditions and a closing Lachin corridor), negotiating with Baku, and trying to bring an international monitoring mission to Artsakh? Or will they perhaps wait for 70 years for the world to realize they are right (and Baku would wait that long)? Or do they have other options in mind?

P.S. The authorities in Artsakh regularly complain to Yerevan, saying, 'Armenia does not respect our independence'. Yes, no government in Armenia recognized the independence of Artsakh (because that would not lead to a good outcome). But I ask, is sovereignty respected in official Stepanakert? Sovereignty within which they must be able to make independent and responsible decisions.

Do they understand that they must represent the people of Artsakh not only in Yerevan (as the authorities of Armenian regions and communities should do)?”