Azernews.Az

Trend:

Erecting a bust in Georgia’s Akhalkalaki town to Mikhail Avagyan, the executioner of the peaceful Azerbaijani population in the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, is an initiative of certain pro-Armenian forces in Georgia, head of the European Diplomats’ Association NGO Zurab Gventsadze told Trend.

A bust to Mikhail Avagyan, a person directly involved in the occupation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan and adjacent territories, and in organizing the killings of Azerbaijanis in these territories, was erected in the Georgian settlement of Bugashen of the Akhalkalaki municipality on January 20.

Gventsadze said that the Armenian separatist Mikhail Avagyan is the enemy of not only the Azerbaijani, but also the Georgian people, therefore this action is directed against Georgia and Azerbaijan.

“At the same time, this action committed in Georgia is aimed at breaking up our peoples,” he noted. “I believe that the mayor of Akhalkalaki is responsible for erecting the bust, because I am sure that the prime minister and the Foreign Ministry of Georgia weren’t informed about this fact. I think that the Georgian authorities will take appropriate decisions regarding the incident.”

He added that the bust to the Armenian nationalist erected in Georgia should be dismantled as soon as possible.

“Our countries are strategic partners, and Azerbaijan is a friendly country, which strongly supports Georgia, providing investment assistance, fuel support, etc. I am sure that attempts by third forces to drive a wedge into fraternal relations between Georgia and Azerbaijan won’t succeed,” he said.

The Armenian separatist Mikhail Avagyan participated in the hostilities in Horadiz, Khojaly and Fizuli towns and was among those who committed genocide in Azerbaijan’s Khojaly town against hundreds of civilians who were brutally killed by Armenian militants.

The ceremony of erecting the bust to Nazi Avagyan was attended by the mayor of Akhalkalaki Yurik Hunanyan, as well as MPs Enzel Mkoyan and Samvel Manukyan, according to Georgian media reports.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.