Statement
Regarding the transfer of territories from the Tavush region from the Bishops and Diocesan Primates of Armenia
Recent developments leave no doubt that the Armenian authorities, in the conditions of complete depopulation of Artsakh and occupation of RA territories, yielding to threats from Azerbaijan, are preparing to hand over territories from Tavush region to the latter before the supposed delimitation and demarcation.
With this defeatist approach, with successive painful territorial concessions, in fact, Azerbaijan’s false claims and reprehensible ambitions to the territories of Armenia are legitimized by the international community.
The Church welcomes all reasonable efforts and processes aimed at achieving peace. It is indisputable that the policy adopted by the Armenian authorities to create an “era of peace” with unilateral concessions is not only unrealistic but also disastrous. Bargaining over the homeland and unjustified continuous concessions can never provide a safe environment for our people.
It is possible to build lasting and strong peace in the conditions of showing full respect for national dignity and rights and maintaining the principle of reciprocity.
We appeal to the authorities of RA to abandon the defeatist way of working and not to proceed with forced solutions in the negotiations on the problems that are faced, which will put the motherland in front of new security challenges.
We also call on the national, political, and non-governmental organizations of Armenia and the Diaspora, all the children of the nation who are concerned about the future of the motherland, including government officials, to unite and defend our national-state interests with national unity, to contribute with all potential to the strengthening of statehood and the creation of a prosperous and safe future.
We believe that among our people there is a strong spirit of patriotism and the commitment to sacrifice the personal for the sake of the nation, a strong zeal to preserve the national identity, and with the help of the Risen Savior and universal efforts, we are able to remove the scourge and evil from our domestic life.
With heartfelt prayer, we ask the Heavenly Lord to pour out the graces of peace and solidarity in the life of our country and people and to keep the independent statehood of Armenia safe and unshakable.
Armenian Apostolic Holy Church The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin
