MAXIM SEVCHENKO SAYS HE HAD NO INTENTION TO INSULT ANYONE BY HIS INTERVIEW WITH AZERBAIJANI MEDIA

ArmInfo
2009-06-26 17:06:00

ArmInfo. ‘I don’t understand why many in Armenia have been offended
by my interview with an Azerbaijani news agency. I had no intention to
insult anyone. We in Russia have very little information on the ethnic
space of this region since the old ties have been broken. Naturally, I
use the books which are accessible>, Maxim Shevchenko, the host of the
TV program ‘Judge by Yourself’ on the First Russian Channel, a member
of the Russian Public Chamber, says in an interview with ArmInfo.

Shevchenko’s interview to Azerbaijani media aroused dissatisfaction
in Armenia and Karabakh. In particular, Shevchenko said that ‘the
Karabakh people are divided into Christians and Muslim. It is actually
one nation, one ethnos. Karabakh people stand out from Armenians as
well. It is an ancient ethnos of the Caucasus: Albans, part of them
is Christians, the other part is Muslims’.

In this context, M. Shevchenko said that he would like to listen to the
opinions of Armenian and Karabakh scientists that may be true. ‘It
is not a matter of political stand. It is a matter of possible
insufficient knowledge after all. I am not a specialist in ethnology
and ethnography. I have relatives born in Karabakh. Therefore I can
notice some things but these are not professional judgments. I’d be
happy to occur at a seminar when Armenian and Azerbaijan scientist
would exchange their vision of the history in the region like in the
Soviet period of time within the frames of the Academy of Science.

Without such scientific dialogues the world becomes poorer. When
I visit Karabakh I will be happy to listen to their opinion and
judgments. It will make my vision of the region much richer, in
particular, of the Ancient Albania and the ethnic groups residing
there. I admit that I know too little about this’, he said.