Controversy between Aliyev and Pashinyan at CIS Summit

Baku / 11.10.19 / Turan: At the meeting of the CIS summit in Ashgabat on October 11, another controversy arose between the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia.

First, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev spoke. He condemned the new authorities of Armenia for the glorification of "the follower of the Nazis Garegin Nzhdeh."

"In Armenia, the former authorities erected a monument to the fascist executioner and traitor Garegin Ter-Harutyunyan, who served the German fascists under the nickname Garegin Nzhdeh, in the center of Yerevan.

Unfortunately, the new government of Armenia did not dismantle this monument. I believe that there is no place for the glorification of fascism in the CIS space," Aliyev said.

Aliyev touched on the topic of fascism in connection with the document discussed at the summit - an appeal to the peoples of the CIS countries and the world community to recognize the decisive role of the USSR in defeating fascism and the inadmissibility of a revision of the history and glorification of Nazism.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan reacted to Aliyev"s speech and accused Azerbaijan of "trying to distort the facts."

"Ilham Heydarovich"s speech gives the impression that Hitler played a secondary role in this war and that the leader of the Nazi movement was Garegin Nzhdeh. The reality is that Garegin Nzhdeh fought against the Turkish occupation of Armenia and against the Armenian Genocide.

I would like to emphasize once again that it is important that we know an objective assessment of history. They say that Garegin Nzhdeh died in the Vladimir prison. Many Soviet leaders died in that prison, Solzhenitsyn was in the Gulag. Do we really think that those who were convicted in the 37-50s are enemies of the nation?" He said.

Pashinyan further said that the words of the President of Azerbaijan are disrespectful towards the Armenian people, as well as to the leaders of the countries and peoples represented at this summit. -02D-