“I think that it was a result of ignorance that the ambassador gave in to Azeri manipulation. I will not comment on the ambassador’s statement or activities as that’s his problem,” an opposition deputy in the parliament of Artsakh, Hayk Khanumyan, said regarding a tweet posted by French Ambassador to Azerbaijan Zacharie Gross, which said that he was impressed by a meeting he held with the ‘Azeri community of Artsakh.’
Regarding recent attempts to resurrect the ‘Azeri community of Artsakh,’ Khanumyan said that Azerbaijan has always tried to do that, but the Armenian authorities, in his opinion, gave a sufficient response. He was referring to Nikol Pashinyan’s statement about how Ilham Aliyev is representing all the citizens of Azerbaijan since he was elected by them, but he has not been elected by the people of Artsakh. The person who will represent the people of Artsakh needs to have been elected by them.
Upon the observation that Nikol Pashinyan was the first to speak about the ‘Azeri community in Artsakh,’ Hayk Khanumyan argued that Pashinyan was referring to the Talysh people, Azeris from Artsakh, Lezgins, and the residents of Nakhichevan who are citizens of Azerbaijan. He said that he is negotiating with the Azeri authorities that represent the citizens of Azerbaijan, not any NGOs.
Nelly Grigoryan
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