Page 59 - bne magazine February 2024_20240206

bne February 2024 Eurasia I 59
Pashinyan warned against Azerbaijan's alleged attempts to assert territorial claims against Armenia, calling such actions unacceptable. Pashinyan referred to Azerbaijan's demand for Azerbaijani exclaves in Armenia, saying that if Azerbaijan demands "four villages, then Armenia raises the issue of 32 villages", referring to Armenian border villages currently under Azerbaijani control and the Armenian exclave of Artsvashen, which were occupied by Azerbaijan in the early 1990s.
'Given our commitment to recognising each other's territorial integrity on the basis of the Alma-Ata Declaration, we state that there should be no occupied territories between Armenia and Azerbaijan', Pashinyan said. 'Therefore, if it is determined that Armenia controls territories that 'de jure' belong to Azerbaijan, Armenia will have to withdraw. Similarly, for territories that 'de jure' belong to Armenia but are currently controlled by Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan will have to withdraw'.
The first rumours about the demand to return the exclaves to Azerbaijan
started circulating in Armenia shortly after the end of the Second Nagorno- Karabakh War in 2020. Later, Baku started demanding the exclaves and a connection to the exclaves guaranteed by Armenia. Azerbaijan has called the territories 'Western Azerbaijan' and demanded the return of the former Azerbaijani inhabitants to Armenia.
On January 10 Aliyev said: "For the villages that are enclaves, a separate expert group should be established and this issue should be discussed. We believe that all enclaves should be returned."
Aliyev also said his army would not
be withdrawing in the near future. "Neither from the positions of May 2021 nor from the positions of September 2022. We are not taking a step back because that border must be defined. However, our location, which is currently disputed by Armenia, does not include any settlement. The positions and heights where we stand have never been inhabited before. Today, Armenia continues to occupy our villages, and this is unacceptable. I want to note
President Ilham Aliyev also said his army would not be withdrawing from Armenian territory in the near future. / bne IntelliNews
again that this issue will be clarified during the meeting of the commissions at the end of this month," Eurasianet reported him as saying.
While the sizes of the Azerbaijani exclaves and Armenian Artsvashen
are almost the same, Armenia will find itself in a difficult situation should the exchange occur, as the country’s two important international roads lie on or nearby the exclaves, one connecting the country to northern neighbour Georgia and the other, Iran.
Controversy over Georgian cathedral’s icon depicting Stalin
Tornike Mandaria in Tbilisi
Acontroversy has blown up in Georgia following the discovery of an icon in Tbilisi's prominent Holy Trinity Cathedral featuring Joseph Stalin, the Soviet dictator known for orchestrating the deaths of millions.
The icon was drawn to public attention when a video surfaced on social media showing the icon in Holy Trinity, the largest church in Tbilisi.
Ilia Chigladze, a Georgian priest, expressed his dismay on Facebook, arguing that featuring Stalin in
the cathedral propagates harmful falsehoods. He denounced the depiction
of Stalin as a faithful Orthodox Christian who heeded the saints, describing him as a bloodthirsty, godless tyrant instead.
The controversial icon first appeared in 2008 in a St. Petersburg church. The Russian Orthodox Church canonised Matrona of Moscow in 1999. The icon showcases various episodes from her life, with Stalin being one of the figures portrayed.
Specifically, the icon illustrates a supposed meeting between Matrona and Stalin before Nazi Germany's invasion of Moscow. According to the story, Matrona prophesied to Stalin that
the Russian people would triumph, assuring him of victory and urging him not to abandon Moscow. This meeting's historical accuracy is debated, with many considering it a mere legend fabricated to portray Stalin in a religious light.
Despite Stalin's notorious record
of political purges and church destructions, he still enjoys a measure of reverence in Georgia. However, many others view his image as a desecration of the memory of Soviet totalitarianism's victims.
"During Joseph Stalin's regime, hundreds of Georgian clergy, primarily
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