The president of Armenia’s self-declared Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Samvel Shahramanyan, has signed a decree to dissolve all state institutions from January 1, 2024, Karabakh Armenian authorities said on Thursday, September 28.

The self-declared republic will cease to exist from that day, the decree said.

The move comes after Azerbaijan carried out a lightning offensive to reclaim full control over its breakaway region and demanded that Armenian troops in Nagorno-Karabakh lay down their weapons and the separatist government dissolve itself.