Arthur Agadjanov: Karabakh Christians and Azerbaijanis Share Common Roots

The origins of the Karabakh conflict lead to falsifications of the history of the region by the Armenian science. It was on this false story that the ideology of separatism was based in Nagorno-Karabakh and the real goal was the exclusion of the region from Azerbaijan, with which it is historically connected. This was stated in the speeches of the participants of the international scientific conference in Baku on March 14, organized by the NGO Center for the History of the Caucasus.

More than 40 scientists, politicians and public figures from Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Canada, Ukraine, Sweden and Uzbekistan, and also Armenian experts and observers take part in the conference.

As the head of the Center Rizvan Huseynov informed, the purpose of the meeting is to discuss ways of peaceful solution of the conflict. He recalled that at the end of last year, civil society activists from Azerbaijan and Armenia created the Platform for Peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan and the current conference is being held with the aim of contributing to the expansion of this peacekeeping mission, bringing to it the political and scientific community of different countries.

The head of a department in the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan, Fuad Akhundov, noted that the Armenian people became a victim of falsification of its history. It is on the falsifications of Armenian historiography that the incitement of hostility towards other nations is based and this in particular was the reason for the unleashing of the Karabakh war.

For 25 years, Armenian politicians have been deceiving their people by the fact that the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh is about to be recognized, and as a result, even Yerevan cannot do this. As a result of this policy, Armenia misses the opportunities for development.

The well-known Russian expert Maxim Shevchenko noted that the South Caucasus throughout history has become the arena of clashes of three empires: the Russian, the Ottoman and the Persian. Today, Russia, Turkey and Iran are claiming to regard the region as a zone of their interests. The European Union also has its claims to the region.

“However, it is impossible for the region to be controlled by one single center of power. For attempts to implement such scenarios will lead to new conflicts,” he said.

According to Shevchenko, wars are due to the inability of states to ensure economic development, although this is covered up by all sorts of ideological justifications.

Azerbaijan invests in development, conducts major international events, and demonstrates readiness for peace. In Armenia, in order to maintain power, the ruling party in the parliamentary elections goes to an alliance with the Dashnaktsutyun party, which until recently officially considered terrorism the principle of its political struggle. “If this alliance wins, then the war will be laid in the basis of the political course of Armenia, which is unsafe for all,” Shevchenko stressed.

“Settlement of the conflict should cover not only the liberation of Nagorno-Karabakh and other regions from the occupation, but also the creation of the possibility of mutual return of internally displaced persons,” Shevchenko noted.

At the same time, he stressed that the conflict cannot be resolved by military means. Escalation will cause conflict on the territory of Georgia, Russia and NATO countries. Armenia will demand a corridor to Russia, and Georgia will turn to NATO. Russia will start taking steps to preserve its interests in the region. For Azerbaijan, this means staying between Russia and Iran and putting under threat its assets and political influence in Russia.

The Chairman of the Movement for the Restoration of the Albanian Autocephalous Church and the Heritage of the Christian Turks, Arthur Agadjanov, a native of Nagorno-Karabakh, stated that the region's history was falsified in Armenian historiography.

According to him, Karabakh Armenians are heirs of ancient Albanians and Turks. Hence the common surnames of the Karabakh Christians and Azerbaijanis are the same Agadjanov, Allahverdiyev, Baghirov, and others.

According to Agadjanov, speaking of the Karabakh Armenians, the use of the name Karabakh Christians is more correct. In fact, Azerbaijanis and Karabakh Christians have the same ancestors.

The region throughout history was the arena of wars and invasions, which left an imprint on the religious-ethnic picture. The language of the Karabakh Christians was very different from the Armenian one.

“Many Karabakh people in the soul agree with me. But very few people dare to openly say this,” the expert said.

According to him, Karabakh Christians are biologically closer to Azerbaijanis than to Armenians. In ancient times, the ancestors of Karabakh Christians, like Azerbaijanis, professed Zoroastrianism.

The process of "Armenization" of Karabakh Christians was largely influenced by the fact that the Armenian Church managed to achieve the elimination of the Albanian church in tsarist Russia, he stressed.

The conference continues. -06C--