Artsakh President Arayik Harutyunyan, in a live broadcast from Stepanakert today, said that no third country can provide long-term security guarantees to Armenia and Artsakh.

He said that Russia is preoccupied in Ukraine and that Baku has taken advantage of the situation.

Harutyunyan said that external enemies have launched an information campaign to discredit the Russian peacekeeping mission stationed along the Artsakh Line of Contact. He said that the citizens of Artsakh will not succumb to this propaganda and appreciate the role of Russia to maintain their security.

He said that while Artsakh wants regional peace and security it must strengthen its civil defense system given the military threat posed by Turkey and Azerbaijan.

Harutyunyan said the Karabakh issue has yet to be resolved, arguing that any decision on its status must be based on the right of self-determination.

Harutyunyan said to ensure the future Armenian identity of Artsakh, all its citizens must stay and work in the country despite the hardships to be faced.

He went out of his way to say that his family will continue to live in Artsakh and that his children attend Artsakh public schools.

Harutyunyan called for internal unity in the face of the country’s external challenges, arguing that Armenians in Artsakh and Armenia are ultimately responsible for their own long-term security.

He expressed the hope that the Russian peacekeeping mission in Artsakh will become more effective and that the Artsakh government will take steps to maintain the peacekeepers beyond the mission's five year mandate.