‘Armenians had lived in Nagorno-Karabakh long before Azerbaijanis appeared’ – Konstantin Zatulin

Konstantin Zatulin, First Deputy Chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, stated in an interview with Svobodnaya Pressa that Armenians had lived in Nagorno-Karabakh long before Azerbaijanis appeared.

“I paid attention to the statements by (Russian presidential aide – ed.) Vladimir Medinsky. Whether they were successful or not is a matter of taste. But in my opinion, there was nothing unusual or original in these statements. Azerbaijan is driving itself into ecstasy, demanding that everyone unconditionally recognize not only the current state of affairs but also forget what preceded it. Twice—in 2020 and in 2023—Azerbaijan launched military actions that ultimately resulted in its control over Nagorno-Karabakh. And the consequence of this was the exodus of the Armenian population,” he noted.

Azerbaijan, according to Zatulin, now presents the situation as if nothing had ever happened in Karabakh before 2020.