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Fatima Latifova

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Right after Azerbaijan liberated the Garabagh from Armenian occupation, visits by official and unofficial foreign representatives were organised to the territories.

Over the past four years, large delegations from major international travel networks such as ETIC, MTP, TCC, NomadMania, British Piki Reels, and Swedish Club 100 have visited Garabagh and Eastern Zangazur several times. Additionally, last year, a UN mission visited Garabagh to observe the situation.

However, despite this, the facts about Garabagh, the vandalism committed by the Armenian junta regime against cultural monuments, historical buildings, and mosques in the occupied territories are still not strongly condemned by the leading bodies and institutions of Europe. On the contrary, the West unfairly defends Armenia due to the liberation of Azerbaijan's sovereign territories.

In a comment for Azernews on the issue, Patrick Walsh, an Irish historian, said that the West's biased policy leans on religious reasons.

“The Western attitude towards the conflict is unfortunately conditioned by history, culture, and contemporary US politics. The historical residue of Western Christian sympathy for the Armenians persists, despite all contemporary facts,” the expert added.

Walsh noted that Armenians use the concept of “democracy” to spread anti-Turk propaganda.

“The anti-Turk propaganda of World War One and before is still in the Western consciousness. Similarly, Armenians have availed themselves of the current Washington ideology directed against Russia, China, and Iran to place themselves in the "democratic" camp against the "authoritarians" of the East and Eurasia," the historian emphasised.

But as we know, Armenia failed once again in the real war in Garabagh, and Azerbaijan liberated its own historical territories in 2020.

Touching on the official and unofficial travels to Azerbaijan’s Garabagh, an expert said that these visits may play a role in future.

“The visits are necessary and essential in making small gains and encouraging some influential Westerners to give a truer picture of the situation. It may not have a massive impact, but Azerbaijan, working against history, culture and politics, has to engage in this kind of long-term work that will pay dividends in the future,” he added.

Patrick Walsh also noted that Garabagh’s history should be learned in foreign countries to diminish Armenian lies.

“Azerbaijan's case is excellent, and it has to be told in the West to combat Armenian misinformation, which is everywhere,” the expert noted.

The historian said that Armenians sponsor some Western-elected politicians and representatives of organisations that have authority on the continent, and this is bad fortune.

“This is an unfortunate fact of life because of the prevalence of powerful Armenian interest groups in some parts of the West who sponsor elected representatives. Pressure groups, it is well known, distort the democratic process in the West. This is widely understood by political scientists and indeed the general public,” he said.

The expert also underlined the role of the Armenian diaspora in Europe as an obstacle to hearing the truth about Garabagh.

“They are a fundamental part of Western democracy that is, at the same time, a hindrance to understanding the facts of the situation. The Armenians have a great advantage in this area with their large and wealthy diaspora and lobby groups. It is just an unfortunate fact of life that only counterarguments can combat.” Walsh said in conclusion.

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