Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) cannot be under any subordination within Azerbaijan, National Assembly speaker Artur Tovmasyan has said in response to a statement from the head of Azerbaijan's Institute for Democracy and Human Rights, Ahmed Şahidov, who claimed that "Stepanakert will come under the control of Azerbaijan in June."

Tovmasyan said Şahidov's comments are part of the "provocative behavior" of the Azerbaijani authorities.

"The ill-fated statement from November 10, 2020 does not contain a clause on the transfer of Stepanakert to the control of the Azerbaijani army,” Tovmasyan said. According to him, the Artsakh Army and the Russian peacekeeping forces are the guarantors of the security of the people of Artsakh today.

"We are convinced that under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group, we will restore the freedom and independence of Artsakh within the borders of the former NKAO. The leaders of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries also understand that along with ensuring the security of the people of Artsakh, the issue of Artsakh's status is also on the table. Security and the determination of status. Should one of them be absent, the Armenians will be expelled from Artsakh," the speaker added.

Şahidov tweeted on May 2 that karabakh's capital Stepanakert will come under the control of the Azerbaijani army – "either peacefully or by force" – in June.