The Supreme Spiritual Council of the Holy See of Etchmiadzin was held from June 5 to 8
The Holy See of Etchmiadzin again called on Armenia’s authorities to refrain from taking steps that would endanger Artsakh and the Armenian nation.
The Holy See’s Supreme Spiritual Council convened in Etchmiadzin from June 5 to 8 and over the weekend published a statement expressing concern over the “disastrous developments around Armenia and Artsakh.”
The statement said that the SSC specifically was concerned about “the danger of genocide threatening the people of Artsakh as a result of the blockade and the encroachments on the sovereign territories of Armenia.”
In its statement, the SSC also “emphasized that the authorities of Armenia should refrain from actions that violate the dignity of the nation and oppose the humiliating ambitions and demands of foreign enemies with realistic and exclusively pro-Armenian positions, resolutely defending the non-negotiable right of the people of Artsakh to self-determination.”
The meeting, which was also attended by Artsakh Foreign Minister Sergey Ghazarian, “expressed its support to the people and authorities of Artsakh, noting also that the just right of the people of Artsakh to live freely and independently will find protection within all national frameworks.”
This rebuke of Armenia’s authorities was the second time in a month that the Holy See of Etchmiadzin was vocalizing its concern for Artsakh’s right to self-determination.
Late last month both Karekin II, the Catholicos of All Armenians and Aram I, the Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia separately cautioned the Armenian government against undermining Artsakh’s independence and right to self-determination.
They called Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s statement that Armenia has committed to recognizing Azerbaijan’s 86,600 square kilometers of territory—that includes Artsakh—“unacceptable.”
“By recognizing the Republic of Artsakh as a part of Azerbaijan, the Armenian authorities would inevitably leave our brothers and sisters in Artsakh facing a new genocide and loss of the homeland,” read a statement issued by the Supreme Spiritual Council of the Holy See of Etchmiadzin after convening an emergency session in May.
“On December 10, 1991, Artsakh already expressed its collective will for sovereignty through a referendum, which was followed by a decision, on July 8, 1992, by the Supreme Council of the Republic of Armenia, which re-emphasized the sovereignty of Artsakh,” said the Cilician Catholicosate at the time.
“According to international law, a nation has the right to self-determination. Therefore, the just right of the people of Artsakh to determine for themselves cannot fall victim to attempts to establish a comprehensive peace within the region and to recognize the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan,” the Antelias statement added.