Public figures from Armenia and Azerbaijan should meet and convey messages to their societies that, regardless of negotiations and other political processes, promote peace and reconciliation. I do not agree with those opposition figures who oppose such contacts.
However, this does not mean that Armenian experts who have visited Azerbaijan should promote Azerbaijani-Turkish narratives here in Armenia. In particular, the following idea: if we do not speak about the right of Artsakh Armenians to return to their homes, then the other side will not speak about the “return” of 300,000 Azerbaijanis. First of all, it should be noted that the Armenian authorities do not speak about the rights of Artsakh Armenians at all. And what is said in Azerbaijan cannot be considered unofficial. Such is the nature of the neighboring country’s regime: the “unofficial” are either in prison or outside Azerbaijan.
Most importantly, Armenian experts are reproducing Turkish-Azerbaijani narratives that contain two major distortions:
- There is no symmetry between the Armenians who were killed, tortured, and expelled from the cities of Sumgait, Kirovabad, and Baku in the Azerbaijan SSR, and the Azerbaijanis who left the Armenian SSR.
- Even less is there any symmetry between the latter and the Armenians who were subjected to ethnic cleansing in Artsakh in 2023.
This non-existent “symmetry” is, for obvious reasons, beneficial to Turkey and Azerbaijan and is actively promoted by them.
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Furthermore, it must be understood that Azerbaijan, at the highest official level, speaks not about the rights of its citizens, but about the Republic of Armenia belonging to them — to Azerbaijanis. In other words, the very right of our state to exist is being questioned.
From this follows an undeniable reality: regardless of whether we speak about the rights of Artsakh Armenians or not, Baku will continue to demand from Pashinyan the return of 300,000 Azerbaijanis. For now, in this pre-election situation, the Armenian authorities cautiously say they do not agree with this. But over these eight years, these authorities have said quite a lot.
Aram ABRAHAMYAN
