YEREVAN, March 16. /ARKA/. Armenian commercial banks have forgiven the families and relatives of those wounded and killed during the war in Artsakh 2 billion drams worth loans, central bank chairman Martin Galstyan said on Tuesday.

“According to our estimates, the process will continue and, on average, the banks will forgive as many as 3 billion drams worth loans without government's support,” Galstyan said.

According to the legislative changes adopted at the end of 2020, banks are exempt from income tax on these loans.

However, according to Galstyan, this does not mean that the bank will receive full compensation for the amount forgiven or written off.

“That is, in case of income tax, the bank will not pay it, but the entire burden remains with the bank,” Galstyan said.

On September 27, 2020, Azerbaijani armed forces, backed by Turkey and foreign mercenaries and terrorists, attacked Nagorno-Karabakh along the entire front line using rocket and artillery weapons, heavy armored vehicles, military aircraft and prohibited types of weapons such as cluster bombs and  phosphorus weapons.

After 44 days of the war, on November 9, the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a statement on the cessation of all hostilities. According to the document, the parties stopped at where they were at that time. The town of Shushi, the districts of Agdam, Kelbajar and Lachin were handed over to Azerbaijan, with the exception of a 5-kilometer corridor connecting Karabakh with Armenia. 

A Russian peacekeeping contingent was deployed along the contact line in Karabakh and along the Lachin corridor. Internally displaced persons and refugees are returning to Karabakh and adjacent regions, prisoners of war, hostages and other detained persons and bodies of the dead are being exchanged.--0-