Yerevan's hopes crumble to dust
Moscow, Paris, and Washington "let Armenia down”

ANALYTICS  04 March 2023 - 17:25

The US, Russian and French embassies, as well as the EU delegation to Armenia, have made statements on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the events in Sumgayit city this week. Proceeding from the sharp remarks in the Armenian media, the content of these statements was not harsh enough to please our neighbour. Apparently, Armenia hoped for numerous reproaches and accusations against Azerbaijan, but it failed.

All texts were purely declarative, without any condemnation of the “Sumgayit events” and, accordingly, ran counter to the interests of the Armenian side, which is accustomed to traditionally positioning itself as a victim and moaning about the “tragic fate of the long-suffering Armenian people”, blaming either the Turks or the Azerbaijanis.

Of course, the Armenian journalists immediately began to complain, and even resent that the mentioned countries wrote only one or two phrases about “Sumgayit” and did not say anything about “aggressive” Azerbaijan and “bloodthirsty” Azerbaijanis. In general, there was not a single line condemning Baku in these messages.

There are some excerpts from these statements. For example, the press release of the EU Delegation says that “the recognition of the actions of the past is an important step towards reconciliation and peace. We express our deep sorrow to all those who lost their relatives and friends in Sumgayit 35 years ago.”

In its message, the US embassy expressed only formal sympathy, writing that "Americans mourn and revere the memory of those killed in Sumgayit in 1988."

The Russian embassy noted that "the memory about these past events is an incentive for efforts aimed at eliminating the possibility of their reoccurrence in the future."

It is noteworthy that the Armenian side has greatly critisised the French embassy, which only on March 2, with a two day-delay, made a statement for the sake of appearances. “We express our solidarity with the Armenian people, who these days revere the memory of the victims of Sumgayit,” the French embassy wrote on Twitter.

As we can see, virtually all countries, formally expressing sympathy, called for reconciliation and peace without the slightest hints and reproaches towards Azerbaijan, which, of course, caused Armenia’s ardent displeasure.

The Armenian side’s main claim is that none of these countries recognise the events of February 1988 in Sumgayit as “genocide”, which, according to Armenia, is in line with the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

Armenia’s absurd accusations promoting terror and violence cannot cause anything but a smile. It would be strange if Armenia suddenly confessed to the committed crimes, including those in Sumgayit.

Meanwhile, there are irrefutable facts and documents confirming that the events in this Azerbaijani city were initiated and carried out by Armenian nationalists, as well as certain circles in the State Security Committee of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and people in the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union having anti-Azerbaijani sentiments.

According to the investigation of the State Security Committee and the Prosecutor's Office of the former USSR, numerous facts, proving that the Armenians themselves were organisers of those events, were revealed.

Sixty-four-year-old Eduard Grigoryan is listed as the main provocateur in the investigation documents, other people of Armenian nationality are also among the organisers. It is known that Grigoryan actively robbed, committed other crimes and personally killed six Armenians.

He was detained, after which he was identified by several members of the Mezhlumyan family. However, despite the fact of the murder of six people proved by the investigative bodies, Grigoryan was sentenced by the USSR court to only 12 years in prison thanks to certain forces standing behind the riots in Sumgayit.

Later, the Azerbaijani law enforcement agencies unambiguously revealed that, along with Grigoryan, his two brothers were also involved in crimes.

It also turned out that on the eve of the events, Grigoryan and his brothers had close relations with the Armenian emissaries in Karabakh. The investigative bodies also concluded that the secret services of the USSR were indirectly involved in organising the riots.

Moreover, there is evidence that the investigative group of the USSR Prosecutor's Office concealed documents and facts that could expose the organisers of the atrocities and bring them to criminal responsibility.
As a result, people with Armenian surnames, who were detained during the events, were released and most of them managed to escape punishment.

Taking all this into account, as well as other crimes of Armenians in Sumgayit, most of which were not disclosed due to Moscow's ignorance of the then destructive processes in the Azerbaijani territory, the current claims of Armenians to Western patrons represented by France and the US, as well as to the formally closest ally - Russia are absurd and ridiculous and demonstrate only the true essence of the aggressor and occupier.

However, the Armenians were not supported by Europeans, Americans, and Russians in terms of the Sumgayit events because Washington, Moscow, and even Paris understand everything perfectly, and therefore they do not want to be involved in the Armenian myth about another genocide.

Caliber.Az