Security Council Secretary Alen Simonyan, during a briefing, addressed statements made by Azerbaijani presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev at Gandzasar in the presence of European ambassadors, in which Armenian historical and cultural heritage was presented as Caucasian Albanian.
“I am not responsible for them. Yes, I am in contact; I have discussed this issue. We do not talk about who is wrong and who is right. They have their view, and we have ours. The point of my work is not to bring the two together and make them clash,” the Security Council secretary said, according to Auroranews.am.
He added that, in his opinion, “everything has already been said, and not everything that is said always needs a response.”
“I could say something harsh now, respond in some way, make us feel good for 15 minutes, but thereby harm the negotiations,” he said, adding that peace should be treated with care.
According to Simonyan, this is a case in which that care needs to be demonstrated in practice.
Simonyan also said he maintains direct contact with Hajiyev.
“Yes, I have spoken with Hajiyev. He has my phone number, I have his, and we talk every other day,” Alen Simonyan added.
EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia Magdalena Grono had arrived in Yerevan from Azerbaijan, where she took part in a tour by representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited in Azerbaijan to territories of Artsakh, accompanied by Azerbaijani presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev. During the visit, Hajiyev presented Gandzasar and Dadivank as Caucasian Albanian.
The following day in Yerevan, after visiting the Matenadaran, Grono said she did not dispute the “Armenian presence and rich legacy in areas of Karabakh affected by the former conflict.”
