‘Nagorno-Karabakh doesn’t cease to exist’: Armenian Ambassador tells CNN Greece

Speaking to CNN Greece, Ambassador of Armenia to Greece Tigran Mkrtchyan stressed that Nagorno-Karabakh did not cease to exist and that the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh was not resolved.

“Nagorno-Karabakh doesn’t cease to exist; Nagorno-Karabakh Administration or the governance in Nagorno-Karabakh ceases to exist. The Armenian governance of or Armenian existence in Nagorno-Karabakh has, for some time, ceased to exist. But the conflict of Nagorno-Karabakh is not over as such because there are several issues emanating from the end of the last violence. You know, as long as the Nagorno-Karabakh people are a compact unit entity in Armenia, there are more than 100,000 refugees who were forcefully displaced from their homes, the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh is not considered solved.

This is what the Azerbaijanis would like to imagine: that there are not the people in Nagorno-Karabakh, therefore, there is not a conflict. But this is a simplistic way of understanding the situation. There are a lot of issues emanating from this situation. The right of return of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians, their right to their properties, which the Azerbaijanis are trying to quickly get rid of as much as possible. The crimes that have been committed against many of them, for example. The cultural rights of Nagorno-Karabakh and the Armenian cultural heritage, which is richly endowed within Nagorno-Karabakh. Unfortunately, Azerbaijan is trying to either distort the essence of this Armenian heritage or to destroy some of them.

For example, we have evidence also, and these are all horrible crimes, and they need to be taken under international review, under international control as soon as possible. UNESCO, for example, on account of cultural heritage, needs to step in as soon as possible. The rights of the Nagorno-Karabakh people need to be taken under the protection of the UN, for example, as soon as possible. International safe guarantees for their return should be ensured, and for this, the international community needs, together with Armenia, of course, we need to exert a lot of sort of pressure or incentives so that Azerbaijan would eventually agree to restore their rights in their homelands. Also, of course, the war crimes that have been committed against the Nagorno-Karabakh people by the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan need to be transparently and internationally investigated. Also, the return of the prisoners of war and also the leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh, former leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh. They are treated as if they are ‘terrorists’ by Azerbaijan, but this is, of course, you know, these are sham trials that they have started, and this is a shame for the entire international community,” he said.

Mkrtchyan noted that if the international community does not take action to condemn Azerbaijan, we may see a similar scenario in the coming decades.

“Unfortunately, we may see a similar scenario developing in the coming decades. I’m not talking about the coming year or two; this will be slower but consistent. You know, consistent cleansing of Armenian traces. So, what Azerbaijan intends to do is clear: it’s getting rid of Armenians first and then the Armenian traces. And the signals, despite, you said, despite the assurances of the safety of Armenians, etc. You know, despite the assurances, on the one hand, and then on the other hand, you see the fist-waving, Hitler-style fist-waving of Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, talking about Armenians as if they are dogs. You know, this is all reminding of fascist leaders’ behavior. The horrible mutilations and war crimes committed by their soldiers and none of them has ever been punished. None. And just recently, we learned that one of the streets in Stepanakert, the Nagorno-Karabakh capital, has been named after Enver Pasha, who was one of the three main organizers of the Armenian Genocide. The signals and the symbols that are referred to do not tell anything good about Armenians’ safety in the area,” he added.

When asked about the role of Russia in the conflict, Mkrtchyan stressed that, unfortunately, Russia was unable to make sure that the November 9th statement from 2020 would stay in force.

“As for Russia, I cannot comment on whether their approach was balanced or not. What I can say for sure is that on the Lachin Corridor, for example, when the blockade was imposed, and this was under the care of, according to the November 9th, 2020, ceasefire statement, the Lachin Corridor was under the care of Russian peacekeepers. Azerbaijan succeeded in imposing and putting a checkpoint there, and the Russian peacekeepers failed to stop this,” Mkrtchyan said.

The Ambassador also mentioned that various Greek agencies “have expressed readiness to support Armenia”, and they are “in close contact with the government of Greece on how to facilitate this support.” At the same time, Mkrtchyan noted that “accepting refugees is not necessary” because they do not want the refugees to get dispersed throughout the world.

“Their [refugees’] rights need to be addressed, and with the hope, even if it may not seem realistic right now, at least in the near future, their rights need to be restored, and they need to return to their homes. Therefore, with great gratefulness to the country expressing readiness to admit refugees, we do not want to encourage this process. Other than that, Greece-Armenia relations can and will be enhanced, and we hope that at some point, we will reach a strategic partnership. This is something we are aiming at,” he concluded.