Ethnic Cleansing of Armenians Occurred in Nagorno-Karabakh, Says Italian MP

It must always be remembered that what happened in Nagorno-Karabakh is the ethnic cleansing of Armenians who have lived there for thousands of years. This formulation comes from Paolo Formentini, Vice Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Italian Parliament and a representative of the League party, responding to the inquiries made about the possibility of Armenia's full integration into the Euro-Atlantic community to Italian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Giorgio Silli.

“We expect Italy to provide full support to the Euro-Atlantic community regarding Armenia's integration. And that is indeed more than just an expectation. We will continue to insist on this, because as we have already noted, Italy has strong ties with Azerbaijan in trade and energy sectors, but that does not mean and should not mean that we should leave an entire nation at the mercy of fate.

We must always remember what happened in Nagorno-Karabakh, as what is simply and naively described as so-called 'displacement from Azerbaijani lands' is ethnic cleansing of Armenians who have lived there for thousands of years. There is no other way to characterize what occurred. It is necessary to realize this. Many solutions could have been possible. However, this was not taken into account, and today there are no Armenians left in Nagorno-Karabakh,” declared Paolo Formentini.

The speaker specifically emphasized the need to ensure the protection of the historical and cultural heritage of that region, including Armenian churches, monasteries, and cemeteries, so that they are not also eradicated. “And all this comes just before the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide on April 24. This is truly a tribute to peace. I am convinced and hopeful that this will be a real peace that respects historical territories, cultural heritage, and the rights of the people. We must not forget all of this in our daily relations with Azerbaijan. And if we have seen progress in the case of Armenia towards the European Union and a new dialogue (as Stoltenberg mentioned) with NATO, we must also say that, according to some observations, the opposite may likely be happening in the country neighboring Armenia,” Formentini concluded his speech.