Under the presidency of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, the Armenian Church’s Supreme Spiritual Council condemned Azerbaijan’s political and military leadership, and called for its prosecution under international law.
Meeting on October 29, 2020, the highest deliberative body of the worldwide Armenian Church issued its statement to mark one month of hostilities since Azerbaijan’s unprovoked, surprise attack on the Republic of Artsakh.
The Supreme Spiritual Council singled out Turkey for its complicity and support of Azerbaijan, and enumerated various Azeri acts of barbarism, including the its use of banned weapons, its targeting of civilians, and its willful assaults on cultural, religious, and medical facilities.
In light of these facts, the statement calls for Azeri president Aliyev, along with government and military officials directly involved in these efforts, to be tried at the International Court of Justice under the charge of committing Crimes Against Humanity.
Click here to read the statement in its original Armenian. An English rendering appears below.
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Statement of the Supreme Spiritual Council
A month has already elapsed since the Republic of Artsakh has been forced to withstand large-scale attacks unleashed by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, with the open support of Turkey. Turkey has provided both international mercenary terrorists and Special Forces of the Turkish Army, as well as large amounts of the latest weaponry.
The military-political leadership of Azerbaijan is using its entire arsenal—including internationally banned weapons—to target civilian settlements of Artsakh, and its numerous health, educational, cultural, and religious buildings, including the maternity hospital of Stepanakert. This behavior is unprecedented—even from the perspective of terrorist groups. Armenians have suffered hundreds of wounded and martyred soldiers in their sacred struggle to defend the homeland. The shelling of the settlements has resulted in numerous casualties and injuries among the civilian population.
For these atrocities against the people of Artsakh, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev—along with all other military-political figures who are directly involved in supporting this violence—must be brought to the International Court of Justice, to be held liable as perpetrators of Crimes Against Humanity.
The Supreme Spiritual Council calls on the international community—in particular, the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs—to stay faithful to the principles of a peaceful settlement of the conflict; to take practical, effective, and decisive measures to halt the bloodshed; to re-establish peace in the region; and to support the self-determination of the Armenians of Artsakh and the just recognition of the people’s right to exist.
Azerbaijan’s policy of resolving the matter of Artsakh through military operations and annihilating the Armenians of Artsakh once again categorically demonstrates that there can be no guarantee of security for Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan.
The Supreme Spiritual Council greatly appreciates the ongoing efforts of the Minsk Group Co-Chair countries for the establishment and maintenance of the humanitarian ceasefire—which was openly violated by Azerbaijan for the third time. We are full of hope that the Minsk Group Co-Chairs will find ways to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and prevent innocent human lives from being sacrificed for geopolitical interests. Today, Artsakh needs humanitarian assistance from all over the world.
We pray to the Lord to bless Armenia and Artsakh, our homeland; to keep our nation strong and united in faith and hope under His powerful Right Hand; and to strengthen the might of our homeland defenders.
May merciful God keep the whole world at peace—free from disaster, pain, and the sorrow of war.
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin
October 29, 2020