On December 21, Vladimir Grigoryan, the Assistant of Samvel Shahramanyan, the last leader of the separatist Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, said that the decree on the liquidation of Karabakh no longer exists.

Grigoryan claimed that with another decree of Shahramanyan dated October 19, all the authorities of the so-called republic, state minister, members of the government, parliament, law enforcement agencies, as well as the mayor of Khankendi, were allowed to carry out their activities on public grounds.

Shahramanyan's new decree stated that all documents of the so-called republic are valid since October 1, 2023. Grigoryan claimed that with the new decree of Shahramanyan, the document he signed on September 28 has lost its validity, and the de-facto Karabakh Republic will continue its activities in 2024.

In response to the question about Shahramanyan's failure to sign a special document canceling the September 28 decree, Grigoryan said there was no need for a separate decree. According to him, that document was not legitimate.

Notably, after the September 19-20 operation of Azerbaijan in Karabakh, Shahramanyan signed a decree on September 28 that the so-called Karabakh Republic and its defense army will be liquidated from January 1, 2024.