European Countries Are Inadequately Informed About the Phenomenon of Anti-Armenianism in Azerbaijan, Says Pashinyan in Interview with Corriere della Sera

In Azerbaijan, the phenomenon of anti-Armenianism is widespread, and European countries are not adequately informed about it. This was stated by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during an interview with Corriere della Sera.

"For example, at the Europa League final held in Azerbaijan's capital Baku last spring, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, then of Arsenal and currently of Roma, was unable to participate. Why? Because his Armenian surname posed a significant problem in Azerbaijan. European fans wearing shirts with his surname were stopped by the police. Just a week ago, a driver in Azerbaijan was arrested simply for listening to a song by an Armenian musician. Last year, there were instances where individuals from the USA, Russia, and Turkey were denied entry to Azerbaijan because their surnames resembled Armenian ones. How does this situation relate to the official policy of the Azerbaijani government?" Pashinyan remarked.

Corriere della Sera noted that Azerbaijan accuses Armenians of military aggression over Nagorno-Karabakh and claims that the Armenian Prime Minister is particularly harsh. In response to this observation, Prime Minister Pashinyan recalled the murder of Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan.

"Armenian armed forces officer Gurgen Margaryan was killed in his sleep by Azerbaijani officer Ramil Safarov. Both were in Budapest to participate in a NATO seminar. This incident occurred in 2004. A few years after being sentenced to life imprisonment in Hungary, the Azerbaijani killer was extradited to his country, where he was welcomed as a national hero, received a pardon from President Ilham Aliyev, was promoted, and provided with housing in Baku," added Pashinyan.

Regarding the differing assessments of history and its even terrifying consequences between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the Prime Minister stated that a conflict exists and must be resolved. "When I became Prime Minister, I proposed a formula. I said that any resolution to the conflict must be acceptable to the people of Armenia, the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, and the people of Azerbaijan. I am the only Armenian leader who has made such a statement. I faced severe criticism in my country. Many asked, ‘Why should the president of Armenia care about the people of Azerbaijan?’ A solution can only be stable if the three parties of the conflict are considered. I hoped that President Aliyev would respond to my statement with a similar statement. I have been waiting for more than a year, but I still have no news about that. If that happens, we will see real progress in negotiations. I hope that European partners and the co-chairs of the Minsk Group will encourage Aliyev to accept this formula: any solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh issue must be acceptable to the peoples of Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Azerbaijan. I would understand if the President of Azerbaijan first mentioned the people of Azerbaijan. That would be acceptable," he added.