Former Nagorno-Karabakh Foreign Minister, adviser to President Davit Babayan has decided to surrender to Azerbaijan, according to a statement he left on Facebook Thursday, September 28.

"Dear compatriots, friends, party members! You all know that I am included in the black list of Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijani side demanded my arrival in Baku for an appropriate investigation. I decided to head from Stepanakert to Shushi today," Babayan said.

"This decision will naturally cause great pain, anxiety and stress, primarily to my loved ones, but I am sure they will understand. My failure to appear, or worse, my escape, will cause serious harm to our long-suffering nation, to many people, and I, as an honest person, hard worker, patriot and Christian, cannot allow this."

Stepanakert is the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh, while Shushi is an old Armenian town that came under Azerbaijan's control during the 44-day war in the fall of 2020.

On September 19, Azerbaijan launched a military offensive against Nagorno-Karabakh, which left hundreds of Armenians killed and thousands of others displaced. On September 20, the authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh agreed to a ceasefire on Azerbaijan’s terms, including the dissolution of the Defense Army. So far, 47,715 displaced residents have already fled Nagorno-Karabakh and reached Armenia.