A bevy of dignitaries and guests attended ceremonies in Stepanakert marking the 20th anniversary of the declaration of Artsakh's establishment as an indepndent republic.

Among the top government and church officials attending the ceremony at Stepanakert's Memorial Complex were RA President Serzh Sargsyan, Artsakh President Bako Sahakyan, Catholicos Garegin II and former RA President Robert Kocharyan.

President Sargsyan eulogized those who fell during the Artsakh War of Liberation and placed a memorial wreath at the gravesite of Artur Mkrtchyan, first President of the NKR's Supreme Council.

(The actual declaration of the establishment of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, issued on September 2, 1991, states that the republic is proclaimed pursuant to the USSR law of secession, and that it "enjoys the authorities given to Republics by the USSR Constitution and legislation and reserves the right to decide independently the issue of its state-legal status based on political consultations and negotiations with the leadership of Union and Republics.")