On 16 October Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan sent an address to the participants of the International Poetry Festival launched in the city of Stepanakert. The address runs as follows: “Dear participants of the festival, I am glad to welcome all the participants and guests of the international poetry festival. We consider important holding the festival in Artsakh and host with love famous poets from different countries in the ancient Armenian soil. Armenian culture is of the oldest and richest cultures in the world, where the art of poetry always occupied a unique place. Talented Armenian writers created valuable pieces, which have become treasure not only for the Armenian but also for the universal poetry. Today, carrying out the important mission of creating, preserving and developing cultural traditions writers inspire their native people, educate and bring up generations cultivating both national and universal values. The NKR authorities rate high the role of writers and are ready to do everything possible to keep supporting the development of literature. Within this very context, we consider important holding such events in our republic, which is also a good opportunity for establishing new contacts and making Artsakh recognizable to the world. Dear friends, I wish you fruitful work and new creative successes.” CENTRAL INFORMATION DEPARTMENT OF THE OFFICE OF THE ARTSAKH REPUBLIC PRESIDENT

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