Lazarev Club: "De-Christianization" of Armenia is a crime against the  Armenian people 

ArmInfo."We, representatives of civil societies of Armenia and Russia, are deeply concerned about what is happening in the Caucasus and in Russian-Armenian relations, which have a centuries-old history." This is stated in the statement adopted following the 6th meeting of the International Russian-Armenian Lazarev Club.

The members of the Club considered it their duty to declare that  despite attempts to discredit Russian- Armenian relations, no matter  who they come from, there is not and cannot be an alternative to  them.

"Especially when, as a result of the failed domestic and foreign  policy of the current Government in Armenia, the very continued  existence of the Republic of Armenia is under threat, and tens of  thousands of Armenians were forced to leave their homes, churches and  ancestral graves in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023.  The common Christian  origin and heroic past of our peoples, who were together in joy and  sorrow, imposes an exclusive responsibility for the preservation and  development of relations on the representatives of the authorities in  our states. Time will certainly put everything in its place in  assessing "who is to blame?" for the loss of mutual trust, the  refusal of allied obligations, losses and victims. We believe and  hope that with the involvement of the best representatives of the  people, civil societies on the broadest basis, an answer will be  given to the question "what to do?" But today we already firmly know  "what not to do": do not dare to question the faith, history and  geography, economy and culture that underlie the union between the  Russian and Armenian peoples, Russia and Armenia," the statement  says.

The Lazarev Club expressed its support and sympathy for the rise of  the patriotic movement in Armenia, which is gaining strength before  our eyes. "They say that you can mislead the entire nation for a  while, fool a part of the nation for a long time, but you cannot  deceive the entire nation forever. It seems that the time has come to  sort things out. We hope that the honor and dignity of the Armenian  people will not suffer in the current events. And therefore, we  appeal to the police, security and other law enforcement officers in  the Republic of Armenia to refrain from using violence against  participants in peaceful protests in the cities and regions of  Armenia. As is known, this did not happen in 2018. We draw the  attention of the heads of law enforcement services to their  responsibility for the suppression of democracy and repression  against the population," the Club's statement continues.

At the same time, the statement strongly condemns the campaign  launched by the authorities of the Republic of Armenia to denigrate  and humiliate the Armenian Apostolic Church, which is the bearer of  the spiritual and cultural code of the Armenian people. It is noted  that the shameful attempts to slander the history of the oldest  Christian Church in the world, coupled with threats to suspend its  activities and even physically hinder the Catholicos of All  Armenians, are unprecedented evidence of the decline in the moral  character of their initiators and organizers. "We call on all honest  people in Armenia and throughout the world to speak out against the  gross interference of the state in the life of the Armenian Apostolic  Church, the oppression of its hierarchs and clergy. The  "de-Christianization" of Armenia is a crime against the Armenian  people," the members of the Club said. " We deeply condole the  tragedy of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh, which brings  back to mind the facts of the Armenian genocide at the beginning of  the 20th century, condemned by the world community. The total exodus  of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh is a grave reproach to all those  involved and even those not involved. It is hard to call this a  "settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict", which has been the  subject of multilateral negotiations for decades. We want peace, not  war, in the Caucasus and that is why we insist on the need to act in  its interests. The "Karabakh issue" cannot be considered closed in  any way. The return of refugees to their homes, the release of all  prisoners, including the captured and detained leaders of  Nagorno-Karabakh, the future of Armenian religious and cultural  monuments - this is an urgent, albeit incomplete, list of problems  that we must be concerned about together. We are concerned about the  need to increase humanitarian aid, support for the temporary or  permanent settlement of Karabakh refugees in Armenia and Russia, as  well as the recorded attempts to deprive refugees of citizenship and  civil rights in the Republic of Armenia.

We join the initiative of the Lemkin Institute for the Prevention of  Genocide, which is collecting signatures demanding the release of the  leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh and other Armenian prisoners held in  prisons in the Republic of Azerbaijan. Taking into account the threat  to the existence and cultural-historical identity of Armenian  religious and cultural monuments, churches and monasteries in the  territory of Nagorno- Karabakh, we announce our intention to  establish and organize the activities of a special expert group of  the Lazarev Club to carry out monitoring for their preservation," the  participants of the Lazarev Club summed up.