Avagyan monument reminds of difficulties in relations between Baku and Tbilisi

Installation of the monument to Mikhail Avagyan, a veteran of the war in Nagorno-Karabakh, in the Akhalkalaki District is a provocation aimed to create problems in relations between Georgia and Azerbaijan, believe politicians and public figures interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot".

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on February 8, in Tbilisi, Azerbaijanis who opposed the installation in the Akhalkalaki District of the monument to Mikhail Avagyan, an Armenian participant of the war in Nagorno-Karabakh, held a protest action in front of the Georgian parliament building.

Zalimkhan Mamedli, the head of the "Borchali" association of Azerbaijanis-natives of Georgia in Baku, has called the installation of the monument to Mikhail Avagyan an "unpleasant event" that darkens the relations between Azerbaijan and Georgia.

"Armenians themselves recognize that Mikhail Avagyan participated in combat actions in Khojaly ... Now they try to present the monument installation as a kind of local event, an initiative of the local population, as something 'not political.' However, I believe this is a well-thought-out political provocation. After all, the ceremony was attended by officials from the Georgian authorities, members of the parliament from the ruling party, and even the Armenian Ambassador," Zalimkhan Mamedli told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Natiq Jafarli, the executive secretary of the "Republican Alternative" Party, a native of Georgia, also treats the story of the monument as a "provocation." However, he believes the central authorities of Georgia are not involved in it.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 15, 2019 at 03:50 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.