Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan's statement regarding Armenia's participation in COP 29 in Baku:
"From November 11 to 22, the UN Climate Change Summit (COP 29) will be held in the capital of Azerbaijan, and an official invitation has been sent to the Prime Minister of Armenia to participate in it.
The conflicting comments of various officials regarding whether to go to Baku or not, among other things, indicate that there is no final decision to participate in the event.
Regarding Armenia's participation in COP 29, I consider it necessary to make a reservation.
I - The attitude and position of the supporters of the sacred struggle and movement regarding the incumbent of the seat of the Prime Minister of Armenia remains unchanged, due to both the latter's legitimacy and the complete failure of domestic and foreign policy.
II - At the same time, if the incumbent of the prime minister's seat considers himself the prime minister of Armenia, then there should be a very clear and result-oriented decision regarding the participation in COP 29 and concrete steps resulting from the latter, such as: A) the incumbent of the prime minister's office should personally go to Baku and, applying (or having previously applied) his favorite format of bilateral negotiations with the President of Azerbaijan, achieve such a result that will make it possible for all captured, detained, the immediate return of our compatriots taken hostage to their homeland.
We repeat: everyone, without any exception,
B) in his official speech to be delivered within the framework of the COP 29 event, the prime minister should confirm the fact of Azerbaijani aggression against the sovereign territories of the Republic of Armenia, demanding the immediate restoration of the territorial integrity of the Republic of Armenia.
C) In his official speech to be delivered within the framework of the COP 29 event, the prime minister should give a clear assessment of what happened in Artsakh in September 2023 as ethnic cleansing and forced displacement.
D) the prime minister should state in his speech that the Artsakh issue is not closed, and the safe and dignified return of our compatriots to Artsakh under international guarantees is the number one item on the agenda in the context of establishing stable and long-term peace in the South Caucasus.
Any step, action and/or course of events that does not reflect and support the presented points cannot be considered as a result, moreover, in such a case, we will be dealing with another step to mislead our own public and serve the interests of Azerbaijan."
