At the initiative of Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II, the World Council of Churches organized an international conference in Switzerland titled “Religious Freedom: Preserving Armenian Spiritual, Cultural and Historical Heritage in Artsakh.”

During the event, the Catholicos declared that with Turkish military support, Azerbaijan had committed an atrocity by seizing and fully depopulating Artsakh. This statement was released by the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.

He further stated that Azerbaijan had seized vital Armenian border areas and continues to introduce new demands during the peace treaty negotiations. “Azerbaijan is holding Artsakh’s political leaders, civilians, and prisoners of war as hostages and conducting show trials against them in blatant violation of international legal norms,” said the Catholicos.

The General Secretary of the World Council of Churches emphasized that Christians are called to be witnesses of truth — meaning standing with victims and naming evil.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s wife, Anna Hakobyan, responded critically on social media: “What are you doing in Switzerland? Whom are you sending safely to their ancestral home? Whom are you urgently freeing from captivity? Do you even understand what spirituality is? What a surprise. The country’s top spiritual mafioso is clearly upset that there’s talk about rugs — otherwise, why attack the elected leader of the state?”