The Azerbaijan State News Agency

SOCIETY

Leaders of religious denominations in Azerbaijan issue joint statement regarding situation on Lachin road

Leaders of religious denominations in Azerbaijan issue joint statement regarding situation on Lachin road

Baku, August 4, AZERTAC

The leaders of the religious denominations in Azerbaijan have issued a joint statement regarding prejudiced statements around the “truck show” - another provocative performance pretendedly created by Armenia on the Lachin-Khankendi road situated in the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan recognized by the international community.

AZERTAC presents the statement.

“We, the leaders of religious denominations operating in Azerbaijan, deem it necessary to declare the following.

First of all, we declare that although the discussion topic is not of a religious nature, however, our primary duty, like every person willing peace to be established in the Caucasus region and as religious leaders who put in a lot of effort on this issue, is to approach what is happening with the criteria of truth and justice. The reality is that the forwarding of trucks by Armenia to the Lachin checkpoint under the guise of "humanitarian aid" is part of a pre-planned provocative anti-Azerbaijani campaign aimed at attracting attention of the international community. The state authorities of Azerbaijan have repeatedly invited the local Armenian residents of the Karabakh region residing in Khankendi for discussion, but Armenia did not accept this and rejected the humanitarian initiatives of Azerbaijan. The fact of deliberately created problem in the direction of the Lachin border checkpoint of Azerbaijan by those trucks, and description of what is happening an “ethnic cleansing policy” and a “humanitarian crisis”, is another manifestation of the habitual behavior of the Armenian side to regularly distort the truth.

We unequivocally declare that the information spread by Armenia about the "policy of ethnic cleansing" is false and slanderous. The international community should not forget that as a result of the ethnic cleansing policy carried out by Armenian extremists, more than one million Azerbaijanis were forced to leave their ancestral lands and lived the life of refugees and internally displaced persons for nearly 30 years. Exactly during Armenia's aggression against Azerbaijan, mosques, temples, cemeteries, historical monuments were destroyed and looted in our occupied territories, Christian churches belonging to Caucasian Albania and Russian Orthodox churches were Gregorianized, and the whole Islamic world was insulted by keeping in mosques of animals considered forbidden in Islam. Despite that the war is over, still hundreds of our citizens lose their lives or become disabled on explosions of the landmines coming directly to the territories of Azerbaijan by Armenia through the Lachin road.

The people of Azerbaijan, under the leadership of our Head of State, has restored its territorial integrity by saving from the aggression of Armenia our ancestral lands, officially recognized by the UN and international law. Today, paying attention to the restoration and reconstruction of religious and moral monuments at the state level, along with civil engineering projects in the territories liberated from occupation is a confirmation of Azerbaijan's tolerant image in the world, being one of the leading centers in the process of interreligious, intercultural and inter-civilizational dialogue. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mr. Ilham Aliyev, always known for his global thinking and humanistic ideas, a leader who decides the destiny of the region and rewrites the history, calls from the high stands for peace and coexistence, and invites the counter party to solidarity on the basis of political thought and humanistic logic for the sake of the future of the peoples.

It is a pity that, in return, Armenian revanchists continue to carry out slander campaigns against our country from the platforms of various international organizations, and even abuse the religious platform, and especially the World Council of Churches for their insidious political purposes. The Armenian Apostolic Church is at the forefront of Armenian revanchism, carries out revenge propaganda, smear campaign against Azerbaijan at the international level. At least, the fact that the World Council of Churches has issued 3 anti-Azerbaijani statements in one year indicates the key role in organizing this series of threat campaigns, played by one of the presidents of the World Council of Churches - the head of the Armenian Church of Cilicia Aram I, as the main ideologist, and the the deputy chairman of the Central Committee (moderator) Aykazyan, as one on the authors and performers.

In this regard, it is deeply regrettable that the World Council of Churches has been taking recently a one-sided and biased pro-Armenian position. The destructive position and anti-Azerbaijani propaganda of a religious organization bearing the name of Church, which incites the Christian-Muslim conflict under the name of "Christian bigotry" by bringing the current situation to the inter-religious level instead of making conciliatory calls that contribute to promoting peace and coexistence, does not correspond to the mission and purpose of the religious institution that wants to serve peace, and is contrary to the principles of justice of religions as well. Earlier, in the letter addressed to the Secretary General of the World Council of Churches Mr. Jerry Pillay and the Chairman of the Central Committee (moderator) Dr. Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, our objection was expressed in regard to the statements made in the 11th Assembly of the Council, as well as in the final document of the last meeting of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches, that served the interests of the Armenian side, and it was noted that, along with the world community, the Prime Minister of Armenia N. Pashinyan in person and officially recognized 86.6 thousand sq. km. of the territory of Azerbaijan, where is no administrative unit called "Nagorno-Karabakh" - "Artsakh". Despite this, in the statement issued by the World Council of Churches on July 31 this year, and deliberately repeating in that text the word "Artsakh" several times, it has grossly interfered in the internal affairs, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, and has demonstrated clear disrespect which is not befitting of an organization that bears the name of the Church.

The present position of the Council of Churches, which did not express its "concern" about the genocidal crimes and Khojaly massacre committed by Armenian invaders against the Azerbaijani population during the First Karabakh War, is based on double standards and politicking. The fact that the World Council of Churches, which never expressed objection to the protracted blockade of Nakhchivan - a sovereign territory of Azerbaijan, by Armenia, is now showing such hypocritical zeal, that doesn`t befit an international religious organization. We strongly condemn such actions and call on Armenia, especially the Armenian churches of Cilicia and Etchmiadzin, to stop war rhetoric and calls for hatred between nations, and not to support idea of revanchism, because such a policy will ultimately aggravate the situation in the region, and will not benefit the Armenian people in particular.

For many years, we have witnessed a number of European countries, especially France, which encourages genocides, violence and conflicts in Africa and Oceania, as well as some Western organizations, making biased, anti-Azerbaijani decisions and adopting resolutions under the influence of the Armenian lobby. There is no doubt that the goal of official Yerevan, and Karabakh separatists and their supporters under the "blessings" of Etchmiadzin in this new provocation is to disrupt the signing of the peace agreement by veering the ongoing Azerbaijan-Armenia negotiations on various platforms off the positive course, and to keep carrying out their revanchism activities. In these processes, the activity of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in the region is of particular concern. Some time ago, official Baku proved on the basis of facts that the ICRC was engaged in smuggling activities through the Lachin road, and exposed the direct participation of the ICRC in the transfer of Armenian war criminals and terrorists across the border.

The history of religions clearly shows that all the prophets, and Jesus, called people to truth, justice and peace. With this statement, we, the leaders of religious confessions operating in Azerbaijan call on the world community, and particularly the World Council of Churches, not to follow the Armenian provocative propaganda, which is an obstacle to peace and tranquility in our region, and to pay attention to information based on facts. Let us not forget that the main duty of religious leaders is to obey the divine commands and be in a conciliatory position for the sake of human peace.”

Sheikh-ul-Islam Allahshukur PASHAZADEH

Chairman of the Caucasus Muslims` Board

Milikh YEVDAYEV

Head of the Mountain Jewish Community in Azerbaijan

Archimandrite ALEKSIY

Secretary of the Baku and Azerbaijan Diocese

of the Russian Orthodox Church

Alexander SHAROVSKY

Head of the European Jewish Community in Baku

Robert MOBILI

Chairman of the Albanian-Udi Christian Religious Community in Azerbaijan

Share news on social media

Follow us on social network

Azerbaijan’s population surpasses 10.224 million

® Azercell supports project to enhance educational opportunities for women

Azerbaijani PM embarks on working visit to Iran

Azerbaijani Embassy in Syria resumes operations

Azerbaijan, Tajikistan discusses prospects for cooperation in combatting emergency situations

Azerbaijan U-18 beach volleyball team wins silver in Latvia

Jacob Kiplimo obliterates half marathon world record in under 57 minutes during dominant Barcelona victory

Saudi Arabia to host US-Russia talks on Ukraine, as UK says it’s ‘ready and willing’ to put troops on ground

Sahiba Gafarova: Azerbaijani and Belarus Parliaments successfully collaborate within international organizations

Almaty eyes better air connectivity with China, targets extra flights in 2025

Euronews: Azerbaijan hosted a spectacular event for judo fans worldwide

Cooperation agreement on tourism between Azerbaijan and Türkiye approved  - ORDER

170 couples marry in mass ceremony in Afghanistan's Samangan

Azerbaijani delegation to attend 24th Winter Meeting of OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in Vienna

Number of passengers transported by ASCO ferries increased by 20% last year

ANAMA: 935.6 hectares cleared of mines and UXOs over past week

BHOS teachers to deliver lectures in Bulgaria

'Conclave' and 'The Brutalist' dominate 2025 BAFTAs with four wins each

10 killed, several wounded in building collapse in Egypt

Another 42 families relocated to Jabrayil receive house keys VIDEO

TASS to hold 19th OANA General Assembly in St. Petersburg in June

33rd anniversary of the Garadaghly tragedy

ICESCO to host 3rd Youth Knowledge Forum

Pesticides causing widespread harm to animals and plants: Study

International Judo Federation commends Azerbaijan’s excellent organization of Baku Grand Slam 2025

® “Women Helpline Service” publishes results for 2024

Caspian Policy Center: Azerbaijan is one the of the key suppliers of secure and stable natural gas to Europe – INTERVIEW

BHOS student successfully completes research internship program in Japan

AZERTAC’s photo correspondent wins gold medal in international competition

Karabakh wedding customs: Traditions that have stood the test of time

Tehran hosts 3rd Caspian Economic Forum

Lassa fever kills 13 in southern Nigeria

NASA sets coverage of firefly’s first robotic commercial moon landing

Italy’s Naples rocked by 3.9-magnitude quake

JPW assisted over 17,000 women through 734 economic programmes last year in Malaysia

DSWD releases over 6K food packs to flood-hit Eastern Samar families

The overlooked astrocyte: Star-shaped brain cells may form specialized networks for reward learning

Pope's condition stable says Vatican

Oil prices surge in global markets

NBA All-Star Game: Steph Curry wins MVP after leading Shaq’s OGs to mini-tournament victory

Pope appoints Sr Petrini as President of Pontifical Commission and Governorate of Vatican City State

Agaverdi Khalilov: The equestrian games of Karabakh showcase the richness of our culture

New DNA research could lead to personalized cancer prevention for smokers

Korean government suspends local service of Chinese AI app DeepSeek

Azerbaijani judokas claim five medals at Baku Grand Slam 2025

Azerbaijan relocates 42 more families to Jabrayil city VIDEO

UAE first Asian country to host FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Trophy Tour

Türkiye begins renovation of Damascus International Airport

Inter Milan denied Serie A top spot in loss at Juventus

Frankfurt sinks struggling Kiel to strengthen top-three standing

At least nine dead in US floods and heavy rain

Maddison's goal brings Tottenham 1-0 Premier League victory over Manchester United

Azerbaijani Defense Ministry presents weekly summary of events

Azerbaijan Army holds military oath-taking ceremonies

Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah net as Liverpool beat Wolves 2-1

Azerbaijani FM attends reception marking Serbian Statehood Day

Azerbaijan and Ethiopian Investment Holdings sign Memorandum of Understanding

Jannik Sinner banned from tennis for 3 months for doping

Eight Azerbaijani athletes to compete at FIG Artistic Gymnastics Apparatus World Cup in Baku

Caspian Sea turns red: Test results announced

Lavrov, Rubio agree to maintain contact, prepare for Putin-Trump summit

President Ilham Aliyev: Relations of friendship and cooperation between Azerbaijan and Lithuania have good traditions

To His Excellency Mr. Gitanas Nausėda, President of the Republic of Lithuania

Mother, toddler die from injuries sustained in Thursday's car-ramming attack in Germany

Azerbaijani FM heads to Serbia for working visit

Azerbaijani FM meets with Latvian counterpart in Munich

FM Bayramov discusses Azerbaijan-Armenia peace process with Romanian counterpart

Omar Marmoush treble fires Manchester City to Newcastle United victory in Premier League

Azerbaijani and Iraqi FMs discuss situation in Middle East

Bayern Munich held to goalless draw with Bayer Leverkusen

Azerbaijan, Moldova discuss bilateral cooperation agenda

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry issues statement on so-called “snap presidential elections” in Georgia’s Abkhazia region

Jeyhun Bayramov briefs Turkish counterpart on Azerbaijan-Armenia peace process

Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan and Bulgaria discuss strategic partnership

Azerbaijan, North Macedonia discuss development of economic and trade relations

Azerbaijani judoka wins Grand Slam gold

Azerbaijani, Lithuanian FMs meet in Munich

Azerbaijan, OSCE discuss key areas of bilateral cooperation

Chancellor Scholz slams US vice president for German election interference

Opening ceremony officially kicks off Baku Grand Slam

Azerbaijan, Guinea explore collaboration opportunities in various sectors

Earthquake strikes Russia's Altai region

To His Excellency Mr. Aleksandar Vučić, President of the Republic of Serbia

Turkish foreign minister discusses Syria, Gaza, Ukraine with US counterpart in Munich

Amazon accused by Italy of evading €1.2bn in VAT payments

SOCAR and Asian Development Bank discuss potential cooperation opportunities

Azerbaijani oil price falls below $77

Six killed, 10 injured as van collides with trawler in Pakistan

Pakistan approves collaborative venture between PSO and SOCAR Azerbaijan

Azerbaijani, Serbian FMs discuss strategic partnership in Munich

Azerbaijani FM meets with Secretary General of Council of Europe

Azerbaijani, Israeli FMs discuss regional matters

Trial of Armenians accused of crimes against peace and humanity, war and other grave crimes continues VİDEO

Azerbaijan, Kuwait hold political consultations

Azerbaijan, ADB explore cooperation

Azerbaijan Air Force military unit marks establishment anniversary

Azerbaijan makes successful start at Baku Grand Slam 2025

Azerbaijan’s Central Election Commission announces general voting results of municipal elections

Munich Security Conference kicks off as Ukraine, Middle East top agenda

President Ilham Aliyev congratulates Syria’s transitional President