Statement by the NKR Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Monday, 29 April 2013 18:07
In Connection with the 22nd Anniversary of Operation `Ring’ on the
Deportation of Border Villages of Artsakh
The operation `Ring’, launched by the special police detachments
(OMON) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan, with the
support of the USSR Interior Ministry’s troops in April-May, 1991
holds a peculiar place in the history of the conflict between
Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh, both for its scope and consequences.
The operation, which became possible due to a criminal collusion
between the Azerbaijani government and some USSR leaders, resulted in
a complete devastation and destruction of more than two dozen villages
of Northern Artsakh, as well as in Shahumyan, Hadrut and Shushi
regions. It ended only after a month, thanks to wide publicity and
condemnation both within the USSR and beyond.
But the wheels of the war were set in motion. The operation `Ring’,
which stood out by its brutality and massive violations of human
rights, sharply increased the level of tension in the region and
shifted the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict to a plane of military
actions, becoming a prelude to the subsequent full-scale aggression of
Azerbaijan against Nagorno-Karabakh.
However, Azerbaijan has failed to achieve its main goal – to
intimidate the population of Nagorno-Karabakh and suppress their
legitimate aspirations for self-determination. On the contrary, the
operation `Ring’ only strengthened the determination of the people of
Artsakh to fight for their rights and freedoms.
From: A. Papazian