Epress.am News from Armenia
“While meeting with Azerbaijani experts and politicians, I got the impression that they want to broaden their contacts with Armenians, at the civil society level,” said Yerevan-based political analyst Stepan Grigoryan, while speaking to journalists in Yerevan today about his impressions during a recent trip to Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku.
As previously reported, Grigoryan was participating in the Dec. 1–3 International Forum on Security in South Caucasus held in Baku. This was his first visit to Azerbaijan in the past 10 years.
Asked by Epress.am to comment on the security of forum participants, Grigoryan said there were no security issues whatsoever:
“All participants were provided with equal conditions; the conference was organized quite well. People made contact with ease, comfortably made speeches.” According to Grigoryan, the interest toward him as an Armenian, of course, was higher and his speech was attentively listened to.
“Even during private discussions, I didn’t feel aggression toward me,” he said.
Grigoryan also went to the Armenian church in the center of Baku, which, according to him, was in very good condition. Reconstruction work is underway and the church is currently under the control of the Azerbaijan government.
“I think that was quite a good message, that they took those steps. Basically, they’re saying, this is an Armenian church and they are restoring it,” he said.
Asked who will visit the church if there are no Armenians in Baku (editor’s note: not accurate), Grigoryan said after the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is resolved, discussions on the return of Armenian and Azerbaijani refugees will definitely begin.This issue was also raised during the forum.
“However, it’s too soon to speak of this,” concluded the analyst.