ArmInfo."We, representatives of civil societies of Armenia and Russia, are deeply concerned about what is happening in the Caucasus and in Russian-Armenian relations, which have a centuries-old history." This is stated in the statement adopted following the 6th meeting of the International Russian-Armenian Lazarev Club.
The members of the Club considered it their duty to declare that despite attempts to discredit Russian- Armenian relations, no matter who they come from, there is not and cannot be an alternative to them.
"Especially when, as a result of the failed domestic and foreign policy of the current Government in Armenia, the very continued existence of the Republic of Armenia is under threat, and tens of thousands of Armenians were forced to leave their homes, churches and ancestral graves in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023. The common Christian origin and heroic past of our peoples, who were together in joy and sorrow, imposes an exclusive responsibility for the preservation and development of relations on the representatives of the authorities in our states. Time will certainly put everything in its place in assessing "who is to blame?" for the loss of mutual trust, the refusal of allied obligations, losses and victims. We believe and hope that with the involvement of the best representatives of the people, civil societies on the broadest basis, an answer will be given to the question "what to do?" But today we already firmly know "what not to do": do not dare to question the faith, history and geography, economy and culture that underlie the union between the Russian and Armenian peoples, Russia and Armenia," the statement says.
The Lazarev Club expressed its support and sympathy for the rise of the patriotic movement in Armenia, which is gaining strength before our eyes. "They say that you can mislead the entire nation for a while, fool a part of the nation for a long time, but you cannot deceive the entire nation forever. It seems that the time has come to sort things out. We hope that the honor and dignity of the Armenian people will not suffer in the current events. And therefore, we appeal to the police, security and other law enforcement officers in the Republic of Armenia to refrain from using violence against participants in peaceful protests in the cities and regions of Armenia. As is known, this did not happen in 2018. We draw the attention of the heads of law enforcement services to their responsibility for the suppression of democracy and repression against the population," the Club's statement continues.
At the same time, the statement strongly condemns the campaign launched by the authorities of the Republic of Armenia to denigrate and humiliate the Armenian Apostolic Church, which is the bearer of the spiritual and cultural code of the Armenian people. It is noted that the shameful attempts to slander the history of the oldest Christian Church in the world, coupled with threats to suspend its activities and even physically hinder the Catholicos of All Armenians, are unprecedented evidence of the decline in the moral character of their initiators and organizers. "We call on all honest people in Armenia and throughout the world to speak out against the gross interference of the state in the life of the Armenian Apostolic Church, the oppression of its hierarchs and clergy. The "de-Christianization" of Armenia is a crime against the Armenian people," the members of the Club said. " We deeply condole the tragedy of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh, which brings back to mind the facts of the Armenian genocide at the beginning of the 20th century, condemned by the world community. The total exodus of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh is a grave reproach to all those involved and even those not involved. It is hard to call this a "settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict", which has been the subject of multilateral negotiations for decades. We want peace, not war, in the Caucasus and that is why we insist on the need to act in its interests. The "Karabakh issue" cannot be considered closed in any way. The return of refugees to their homes, the release of all prisoners, including the captured and detained leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh, the future of Armenian religious and cultural monuments - this is an urgent, albeit incomplete, list of problems that we must be concerned about together. We are concerned about the need to increase humanitarian aid, support for the temporary or permanent settlement of Karabakh refugees in Armenia and Russia, as well as the recorded attempts to deprive refugees of citizenship and civil rights in the Republic of Armenia.
We join the initiative of the Lemkin Institute for the Prevention of Genocide, which is collecting signatures demanding the release of the leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh and other Armenian prisoners held in prisons in the Republic of Azerbaijan. Taking into account the threat to the existence and cultural-historical identity of Armenian religious and cultural monuments, churches and monasteries in the territory of Nagorno- Karabakh, we announce our intention to establish and organize the activities of a special expert group of the Lazarev Club to carry out monitoring for their preservation," the participants of the Lazarev Club summed up.
