 Residents were similarly forced to leave their homes and thus ceded them after signing a form which stated that they were leaving their homes at their own volition.The second operation provoked further anger from the Armenian government, which saw the operation as an encroachment against its sovereignty.Armenia's president, Levon Ter-Petrosyan claimed that the Soviet government was exacting retribution against his country for not taking part in the All-Union referendum by depopulating the towns.