Azernews.Az

Qabil Ashirov

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Armenian media outlets are trying to sweep under the carpet the gaffe made by Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan during a critical panel on the South Caucasus at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum 2025. Thus, the top minister inadvertently revealed more than intended with a slip of the tongue, stating: ‘…we all know that the First Azerbaijani Republic declared its sovereignty over much larger territories than the current Republic of Azerbaijan, including over 60 percent of present-day Armenian territories.’

To provide insight into the issue, the Armenian side and their supporters worldwide have not missed any platform to plant story that Garabagh has never been part of Azerbaijan. Blatantly repudiating all historical facts, they claimed that Garabagh was not under sovereignty of short-lived Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan which existed from 1918 to 1920 in the wake of collapse of Russian Empire. Going further, they claimed that Bolsheviks "invaded" Garabagh and handed it over to Azerbaijan to appease Baku due to the oil. According to the Armenian propaganda, with the dissolution of the USSR, Garabagh emerged as an independent republic, as other Soviet Republics.

Contradicting the Armenian propaganda planted so far with great efforts and financing, the top diplomat stated that even 60 percent of present-day Armenia, let alone Garabagh, was under the sovereignty of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan, which the current Republic of Azerbaijan regards as its successor. Needless to say, it was a significant blow to Armenian propaganda worldwide, and now, media outlets and propagandists are running around like headless chickens to obscure the Foreign Minister’s statement.

In this regard, some media outlets began circulating false news. Take Arka.am, for example. The media outlet quoted Mirzoyan’s interview with Turkish NTV from a few days ago, stating: "That First Azerbaijani Republic declared sovereignty over territories much larger than the internationally recognized borders of modern Azerbaijan. More than 60% of those territories are the sovereign and internationally recognized territory of the Republic of Armenia."

It is worth noting that Mirzoyan did not address this issue or make any such statement during his interview with NTV. The media outlet added this part themselves. Furthermore, they manipulated the wording in a way that distorted the original message. Upon reading the article, one might be led to believe that Armenia inherited 60 percent of the territories of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan. Some may argue that this was an error. However, the abundance of such "errors" discredits that claim. It is crystal clear that this was a deliberate attempt to obscure the meaning of Mirzoyan’s speech. The next step might be to announce that Mirzoyan’s words were taken out of context and misinterpreted. Or perhaps the Armenian side will go as far as accusing him of being an Azerbaijani agent. Who knows?

The incident has exposed deep inconsistencies within Armenian narratives regarding the region’s history. What was likely meant to be a controlled and calculated diplomatic appearance instead turned into a revealing moment that undermined years of propaganda. The reactionary attempts to twist or cover up Mirzoyan’s statement only reinforce the significance of what was said. Rather than confronting historical facts, Armenian media has resorted to misinformation and deflection. But, the truth—however inconvenient—has a way of surfacing. Mirzoyan’s accidental admission may have opened the door to long-overdue recognition of the real historical landscape in the South Caucasus.