The declaration was rooted in the December 1, 1989, joint decision of the Armenian SSR Supreme Council and the Artsakh National Council on the "Reunification of the Armenian SSR and the Mountainous Region of Karabakh" with ties to the Republic of Armenia established on May 28, 1918 and the Declaration of Independence of Armenia (1918).
[1] It renames Armenian SSR to the Republic of Armenia and establishes that the state have a flag, coat of arms, and national anthem.
It also states the nation's independence with its own currency, military, and banking system.
The declaration guarantees free speech, press, and a division of governance between a judiciary, legislature and presidency.
It also supports "recognition of the 1915 Genocide in Ottoman Turkey and Western Armenia".