Armenian Foreign Ministry Issues Statement

The Armenian Foreign Ministry has issued a statement on the occasion of the 37th anniversary of the massacres that took place in Sumgait. Below is the full text of the statement.

In February 1988, during the days of the 27th to the 29th, a series of atrocities were committed in Sumgait, Azerbaijan, which marked the beginning of widespread massacres against Armenians in that state, conducted under clear governmental sponsorship and direction, transforming decades of pressure and persecution into open and mass violence.

The mass killings and torture of Armenian citizens in Sumgait continued in Baku, Kirovabad, and Maragha, following the same patterns and horrifying brutality. Hundreds of Armenians were killed, and around half a million were subjected to forced displacement as a result of these events. The cycles of violent policies continued until September 2023, when the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh was entirely subjected to ethnic cleansing.

In remembering these events, we pay tribute each year to the innocent victims. At the same time, we believe that these commemorative dates are not only moments of remembrance but also opportunities to emphasize the necessity of overcoming hostility to prevent the recurrence of such manifestations in the future.