Armenia Must Begin Resettling Liberated Territories, Says Hovannesian

YEREVAN (Armenpress)-Armenia must begin resettling Artsakh's liberated territories, including the strategic Kashatagh region (Lachin), Armenian Revolutionary Federation Bureau member Vahan Hovannesian said Tuesday during a session of the Armenian National Assembly. Hovannesian, who is a member of Armenia's parliament, said it is time to respond to Azerbaijan's ongoing efforts to invalidate the people of Karabakh's right to self-determination. "Armenia's inner tensions are being used against our people to jeopardize or statehood and the independence of Arstakh," he stressed. "We cannot remain indifferent and must confront these challenges." The strengthening and development of Karabakh and the strategic Kashatagh region between the two Armenian Republics cannot be done by charity alone, he added, pointing to the conclusions of an international conference on the issue held late last month. The conference, devoted to the development of the Karabakh's Kashatagh region, took place from March 28-30 in the town of Berdzor, Kashatagh's regional center. The conclusion of that conference was that Kashatagh and Karabakh are vital to the national security of Armenia and must be given full attention, Hovannesian said. According to him, the National Assembly will approve an interest free credit for Nagorno-Karabakh when it approves next year's budget