A roundtable was held at the Center for Analysis of International Relations (AIR Center) with the participation of well-known video blogger Albert Isakov, APA reports.
The event was moderated by AIR Center Chairman Farid Shafiyev, who addressed the remarks made by former Armenian President Levon Ter-Petrosyan in an interview published on YouTube.
He noted that Western experts often associate the beginning of the Karabakh conflict with the Sumgayit events: “But in that well-known video, Levon Ter-Petrosyan says that we started this conflict so that not a single Azerbaijani would remain in Armenia.”
Well-known video blogger Albert Isakov emphasized that the Karabakh conflict and the pain it caused have become a part of our lives. He noted that despite what happened in the past, there are still prospects for coexistence between the Armenian and Azerbaijani peoples.
Isakov particularly emphasized that the Armenian society was deceived both during the 44-day war in 2020 and in the post-war period: “I also personally observed the overwhelming number of lies being told to them. That’s when I started sharing my own experiences and posting videos online. Today, when we speak about prospects for coexistence, we can also talk about how to move forward in this direction. The other side often says they don’t want to live together, but they also have nowhere else to go. Conflicts are relevant not only in the Caucasus region but in many parts of the world. If we approach existing issues between peoples abstractly, we will never be able to talk about peace and the future.
Many people have lost their lives in this conflict and have been displaced from their homes. Inevitably, I return to memories of my childhood—of happy times spent with my mother in the library. My YouTube channel is followed by people both in Azerbaijan and Armenia. Perhaps sharing personal experiences publicly isn’t right, and I broke that rule. I openly say that the responsibility for all these events lies with Armenian society.
My mother is ethnically Armenian. I once lived in a multiethnic society and experienced the joy that coexistence can bring. Just imagine: after Azerbaijan’s victory in the Karabakh war, my half-brother living in Israel posted a photo of himself with the Azerbaijani flag on social media. Why shouldn’t he be happy? We must understand that it is the people who must live together and find a way out of this situation. Armenian society is stuck in a mental deadlock, and there is no way out of it. Sometimes people from Armenia call me and say, ‘We know Azerbaijanis will return, but we just cannot imagine the idea of coexistence.’”
Albert Isakov regretfully noted that in Armenia, there is a tendency to link everything in the world to Armenians:
“There’s this perception that everything belongs to Armenians, that everything was created by Armenians. The older generation in Armenia remembers the time of coexistence with Azerbaijanis. Now, when the topic of Azerbaijanis returning to Armenia is raised, people there say they can’t even imagine it. The mind considers the possibility of coexistence, but cannot visualize it.
I believe that the party currently in power in Armenia must put a complete end to the 'Artsakh' movement. I don’t think that those who are protesting in Armenia today would go to fight if a new war were to start.
As for the possibility of renewed tension along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, I categorically rule it out.”
The event concluded with a Q&A session.
Note that some time ago, Albert Isakov published a video on his YouTube channel showing former Armenian President Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s meeting with members of the “Yerkrapa” terrorist organization on July 23, 1993.
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