Following the attacks on Armenian territory by Azerbaijani forces, the German magazine Tichys Einblick reached out to the German Foreign Ministry to clarify the government’s official stance towards the situation in Armenia. As of the time of this writing, the media source has received no answer.
In the meantime, Tichys Einblick published an official statement by the diocese of the Armenian Church in Germany, in which the church calls upon the German government, as well as the sister churches in Germany, and national and international institutions and organizations, to work towards ending the escalation of the conflict.
The European Conservative has received permission to share the statement in full:
The Diocese of the Armenian Church in Germany strongly condemns Azerbaijan’s attack on the Republic of Armenia in violation of international law.
On September 13th, at 00:05, Azerbaijani forces launched a large-scale military operation along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. The attacks with artillery, mortars, drones, and large-caliber rifles are directed mainly against Vardenis, Sotk, Artanish, Ishkhanasar, Goris, and Kapan, as well as surrounding localities. In addition to military targets, civilian infrastructure is also being attacked by Azerbaijani forces. These military operations are independent of the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh and constitute a direct attack on the Republic of Armenia. With this attack, Azerbaijan once again clearly violates international law.
This attack once again destroys the already shaky peace in the region and tramples on international law and human rights. We are extremely concerned for the lives and well-being of the Armenian people. Indeed, there are already dozens dead and many injured. Our thoughts are with the bereaved families of the victims, and with our compatriots in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. Our solidarity goes out to all of them.
We, the Armenian Church in Germany, are committed, within the limits of our possibilities, to putting an immediate end to this attack by Azerbaijan, which violates international law, and to peace. For two years we have been supporting the victims and people in distress of the 44-day war in Nagorno-Karabakh, but we fear that the humanitarian situation will worsen in Armenia as well.
We turn to the Federal Government with great concern and reach out to all political parties in the Federal Republic of Germany, to all relevant national and international organizations and institutions, with the urgent request to work towards ending this escalation, to condemn the Azerbaijani attack on the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia, which violates international law, to force the aggressor Azerbaijan to immediately stop the attacks on the Republic of Armenia, and to withdraw from the sovereign Armenian territory.
At the same time, we also appeal to our sister churches, to the German Bishops’ Conference, to the Evangelical Church in Germany, to the Orthodox Bishops’ Conference, to all member churches of the Association of Christian Churches in Germany, and to all people of good will to pray for peace in Armenia.
Germany, along with other EU member states, has legally contracted gas deliveries from Azerbaijan, and Tichys sought to know how the recent bombings on Armenia would impact this contract. Like Russia, Azerbaijan has now also commenced an attack on a sovereign, neighboring country.
It seems reasonable to wonder if Germany, and the rest of the EU, might not also sanction Azerbaijan.
