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Qabil Ashirov

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French Ambassador to Armenia Olivier Decottignies is trying to fish in troubled waters. The ambassador shared two posts about the Blue Mosque in Yerevan and the West Azerbaijan province of Iran, sparking ambiguity and controversy, especially in light of recent military training conducted by Azerbaijan and Iran.

The post about the mosque reads, "In the gardens of the Blue Mosque of Yerevan, emblematic of Armenia's Persian heritage." This statement echoes Armenian rhetoric about the mosques in the country. To erase Azerbaijani heritage in Armenia, these mosques were renamed as Persian mosques. For more detail, it is worth noting that until the Russian Empire's invasion of modern Armenia, the region was known as the Irevan Khanate. The Irevan Khanate was a semi-independent city-state affiliated with the Iranian Empire, ruled by an Azerbaijani dynasty. After the invasion in 1828, the Russian Empire settled Armenians from Iran and later from the Ottoman Empire in the region to create a Christian enclave within the Muslim community. This enclave eventually evolved into modern Armenia.

In the 1980s, during the Soviet era, over 250,000 Azerbaijanis comprised the second-largest ethnic group after Armenians in the country. However, Armenia aimed to seize additional territories, particularly Garabagh, from Azerbaijan under the guise of self-determination. Azerbaijanis in Armenia posed the biggest challenge to this objective, as they could demand the same right of self-determination. To address this, Armenia forcibly deported all Azerbaijanis, as well as Muslim Kurds, from the country between October 1987 and mid-February 1988. Following these deportations, Armenian residents of Garabagh began protests in Khankendi, which escalated into a full-scale war. From that point on, Yerevan has gone to great lengths to erase all traces of Azerbaijanis in Armenia, destroying buildings with Azerbaijani heritage. However, some prominent buildings, like the Blue Mosque in Yerevan, could not be destroyed. Instead, Armenia introduced a new notion in Islam, calling such mosques Persian Mosques. As is known, all nations have their own Churches in Christianity, like the Russian Orthodox Church, the Armenian Orthodox Church etc. Islam does not have such kind of divisions. But Armenians started to call the above-mentioned mosques Persian Mosques. It seems the French diplomat is keen to participate in this falsification, but they should remember that such attempts are short-lived. Everyone knows the true Islamic culture and history.

As for the second post about the West Azerbaijan province of Iran, it is unclear what the diplomat intended to convey. Many on social media claim that the diplomat hinted at the Western Azerbaijani Community by saying "the one and only." The Western Azerbaijani Community consists of Azerbaijanis who were expelled from Armenia 30 years ago. They rightfully call Armenia Western Azerbaijan and seek to return home. However, Iran has a province called West Azerbaijan. It seems the French diplomat aimed to sow discord between Azerbaijan and Iran, but in vain. Because even the least knowledgeable individuals in the region understand what Azerbaijanis mean when they refer to Western Azerbaijan.

Additionally, these two Muslim brother states share a common culture with a history that traces back thousands of years. In addition, over 30 million Azerbaijanis live in Iran, and both the Supreme Leader and the President of Iran are Azerbaijanis. Even during the First Garabagh War, the Iranian army hit Armenian positions to rescue civilians in Zengilan. Iran and Azerbaijan may have disagreements, but it does not mean that these two fraternal nations will not fight over Armenia. Someone should tell the diplomat that either Iran or Azerbaijan is not an Armenia that can easily become a tool for others.