I t became clear in the night of November 9-10, that the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan reached an agreement to cease hostilities in Artsakh. By the document signed, Armenia retuned to Azerbaijan the regions of Aghdam, Kelbajar and Lachin, maintaining the Lachin corridor, deploying Russian peacekeeping contingent there and along the Nagorno-Karabakh line of contact. According to this agreement, Armenians in Artsakh are facing deportation and a number of other issues, for the solution of which the Foreign Ministry of Armenia is trying to make serious efforts.

Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, who resigned on November 16, had telephone conversations with the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, UN Secretary General and OSCE Minsk Group Co-chair representatives on the post-war situation, as well as the agreement signed. In addition, he had two telephone conversations with the Russian Foreign Minister.

The following main issues were touched upon in all these telephone conversations:

• Ensuring stable guarantees for Artsakh status and the security of the Armenians in Artsakh. 
• Taking steps to address the humanitarian crisis in Artsakh due to Turkish-Azerbaijani aggression.
• The fate of the Armenian historical-cultural heritage of Artsakh in the territories occupied by Azerbaijan.

During the conversation with the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell on November 12, speaking about the preservation of cultural heritage, Z. Mnatsakanyan emphasized the fate of the Armenian historical and cultural heritage in the territories occupied by Azerbaijan. Besides the above-mentioned points, they also talked about the OSCE Minsk Group activity, within the framework of which the EU High representative reaffirmed the EU’s support for the OSCE Minsk Group format. In his talk, the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres also reaffirmed the UN support for the OSCE Minsk Group format. They stressed the importance of the structure and the involvement of relevant bodies in the settlement of the above-mentioned issues.

In the conversations with the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries’ Foreign Minister of Russia Sergey Lavrov, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Bigan, Z. Mnatsakanyan’s emphasized that the joint statement made on November 10, cannot be considered a comprehensive solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. They also touched upon the key role of Turkey expressed both by direct involvement in the hostilities and by the involvement of foreign mercenaries in the conflict zone. In this conversation, Z. Mnatsakanyan also stressed the barbaric attitude of Azerbaijan towards the Armenian heritage, as a result of which the monuments of the Armenian heritage were completely destroyed both in Nakhichevan, in the territory of Azerbaijan and in the territories occupied by Azerbaijan during the first Artsakh War. The interlocutors stressed the importance of ensuring the continuity of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs’ activity as the only measure of international mediation.

Besides these conversations, the former leader of the RA Foreign Ministry twice spoke with the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The interlocutors discussed the steps to be taken by the international community to address the humanitarian crisis in Artsakh. In this context, they stressed the need to cooperate with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, UNESCO, the UN Development Agency, the International Committee of the Red Cross and other multilateral organizations to address the needs of the Artsakh Armenians and preserve the Armenian historical and cultural heritage.

Despite various discussions on preserving historical and cultural heritage, the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin issued a statement, that by entering Shushi, Azeris desecrated the Cathedral of Holy Savior Ghazanchetsots Church in Shushi, leaving their trace on the outer and inner walls of the church. After the statement, Foreign Ministry of Armenia noted, that because of the atmosphere of anti-Armenianism in Azerbaijan and the actions aimed at a complete annihilation of any trace of Armenian presence in Artsakh are a complete violation of international law, contradict universal values and should be severely condemned. Foreign Ministry of Armenia stressed that they continue cooperation with relevant international circles to hold perpetrators accountable and completely prevent such acts.

A few hours before the statement by the Mother See, during the Putin-Aliyev telephone conversation, Russian President stressed the importance of ensuring the safety of Christian churches that passed under Baku’s control and the normal life of these shrines. In response, Aliyev assured that these churches and monasteries would be protected by Azerbaijan. The Russian Orthodox Church also raised the issue of preserving those churches, stating that the inviolability of Christian shrines is a prerequisite for the cessation of the conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh.