David Babayan admits opposition to integration of Armenians into Azerbaijan UPDATED

During a court hearing at the Baku Military Court on April 7, David Babayan, one of the key figures of the former separatist regime in Karabakh, admitted to opposing the integration of Armenian residents into Azerbaijan.

Responding to questions from the state prosecutor, Babayan stated that integration had been deemed "impossible" by the so-called leadership of the now-defunct separatist entity, Caliber.Az reports via local media.

He also revealed that other prominent figures, including Arayik Harutyunyan, Ruben Vardanyan, and various other “officials” of the illegal regime, shared the same view.

“No ‘official’ saw any prospects for such integration,” Babayan said during the proceedings.

In addition to his comments on integration, Babayan also discussed his travels abroad while serving as the "foreign minister" of the self-proclaimed regime. He admitted that during his tenure, he had traveled on an Armenian passport as a citizen of the Republic of Armenia. "Certain individuals (referring to 'officials' of the self-proclaimed regime) also had diplomatic passports. Like our regular passports, the diplomatic passports were also from Armenia," he explained.

The court continues to examine the cases of several Armenian nationals accused of committing grave crimes amid Armenia’s military aggression against Azerbaijan. The charges include crimes against peace and humanity, war crimes, planning and conducting aggressive warfare, genocide, violations of international humanitarian law, terrorism, financing of terrorism, violent seizure and retention of power, and other serious offences.

By Vugar Khalilov