Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 28
By Ilhama Isabalayeva – Trend:
Armenians are newcomers not only in the South Caucasus, but on the whole Asian continent, Academician Yagub Mahmudov said.
Mahmudov, who is also director of the Institute of History of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences and MP, made the remarks at an international symposium in Ankara Feb. 28 dedicated to the 26th anniversary of the Khojaly tragedy.
“The fact that Armenians are newcomers has been testified by the sources and "Father of history" Herodotus,” he said.
He said that as a result of research conducted by the Institute of History, it was proved that until 1918 an Armenian state never existed in the South Caucasus.
“Under the pressure of big countries and some political circles of the Ottoman Empire, on May 29, 1918 the government of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic ceded the ancient Azerbaijani city of Irevan, along with the adjacent territory with an area of 9,000 square kilometers, to the Armenians,” Mahmudov added.
"Russia and European countries will never create "Great Armenian state" for Armenians, which is unprofitable for them,” he said. “But they use Armenians to realize their shady intentions."
He added that in an interview with UK journalist Thomas de Waal, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan admitted that he was one of the organizers of the Khojaly genocide.
"Sargsyan said that before Khojaly, the Azerbaijanis thought Armenians could not raise their hand against civilian population, but claimed that Armenians were able to destroy that stereotype," said Mahmudov, reminding of Sargsyan's comments to Thomas de Waal.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
On Feb. 25-26, 1992, the Armenian armed forces, together with the 366th infantry regiment of Soviet troops, stationed in Khankendi, committed an act of genocide against the population of the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly. As many as 613 people, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 old people were killed in the massacre. Eight families were totally exterminated, 130 children lost one parent and 25 children lost both. Some 1,275 innocent residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 people still remains unknown.
The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.