Sargsyan Responds ‘as an Armenian’ to Azerbaijan Parliamentary Vice-Speaker’s Statement

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan responded to a recent statement by Azerbaijan’s Parliamentary Vice-Speaker Bahar Muradova, in which she publicly appealed to the Armenian president and his wife, particularly saying, “Don’t let your people murder children.”

In the Armenian president’s statement issued today, he said he was “sincerely upset” by the appeal.

“I have been upset for two reasons. First, because I think that you were really sincere and convinced in what you said. Second, the newly invented legends about my people grow into beliefs day by day in your country, which would be very difficult to dispel by facts and healthy debate only, to reassure even the most distinguished Madam in the opposite and expose the true reality.

“I decided to respond to your statement as an Armenian. Should you engage in a frank conversation with the Azeris that know our people well they at their most sincere would definitely tell you who an Armenian is in reality. I know it is hard but at least give it a try. Undoubtedly afterwards the propaganda will render to You, you and all the others, myriads of other horrible ‘stories’, but I assure you that stories from the depths of hearts and souls are perpetual as they are real. One just needs to be familiar with them,” wrote Sargsyan.

Continuing, Sargsyan agreed that Armenians and Azerbaijanis “face a problem,” which needs to be resolved together.

“Indeed, together. We must solve it and not burden with it our children. But to do that first and foremost we should be able to transform the social atmosphere leading to destruction, we should reject mechanisms nourishing it, we should be able to remake the environment that gives birth to violence bringing about irretrievable losses of young men, an environment where a child’s life may undergo speculations with suspicious stories serving the mere primitive goal of stigmatizing the whole nation.

“We must be able to respond to their mothers, and do that together. The only thing their mothers expect from us is the return of their children.

“Although your statement had no connection with reality whatsoever, I decided to respond to it. And I hope that after an impartial investigation of the child murder case that you referred to you should be able to make another statement no matter how difficult it is,” the Armenian president concluded.

Recall, Azerbaijan insists that a 9-year-old child died as a result of a shot fired by an Armenian sniper in early March, while Armenia denies the accusations.