The pursuit of international recognition of Artsakh and the settlement of the Karabakh conflict will be key foreign policy priorities for Artsakh, the country’s foreign minister, David Babayan said during a press briefing on Wednesday.

“We will continue to actively and persistently defend the interests of Artsakh, our independence and sovereignty, strengthen the national unity and cooperation between Armenia, Artsakh and the Diaspora,” added Babayan.

The Artsakh foreign minister explained that within the realm of international recognition of Artsakh, development of relation with various countries and relevant official entities working within them would play a significant role in advancing that priority.

This also stipulates, Babayan explained, the further strengthening of cooperation with communities and organizations of the Armenian Diaspora.

“We must show the world that Artsakh exists, that we are controlling our fate. This is very important for both the world to know and the important power centers to have a proper perspective about the situation. We must be guided by all this and continue our policy,” said Babayan calling this approach preserving Artsakh’s geopolitical identity.

He said the his ministry will be “initiating, courageous and targeted foreign policy” based on the ministry’s slogan of “More action, less talk.”

Babayan began his presentation to the press by reflecting that 2021 became a year of recovery from the devastating blow to Artsakh as a result of the war.

“2021 was a unique year for our country—for all of us,” said Babayan. “In fact, this was a time for recovery after the third Artsakh war. We can say that Artsakh is still in a rather difficult situation, as a wounded country, but we can state that we are gradually coming out of the ICU.”

Babayan said that the country and its people must emerge from this “difficult psychological state, because otherwise it is going to be hard to expect successes.”

He reported that during 2021 the foreign ministry has done its utmost to protect Artsakh’s interests in various international organizations in order to ensure that Artsakh is not left out of geopolitical processes.

“As you know, one of our important functions is to present our positions in various international organizations. In 2021, we circulated 20 documents to the OSCE, 15 documents to the UN and four to the Council of Europe. We released 32 official comments during the year, and another 88 official statements,” he said, adding that the foreign ministry also engaged with leading media outlets from 14 countries that resulting in the publications of commentary, interviews and articles.