Azerbaijan’s campaign to recast Armenian Christian heritage as “Caucasian Albanian” is now extending beyond occupied Artsakh to monuments inside Armenia.
The so-called “Western Azerbaijan Community” has published photographs of Geghard Monastery, presenting one of Armenia’s most important medieval monasteries as part of the “historical and cultural heritage of Western Azerbaijan.” Geghard’s Armenian identity is extensively documented: UNESCO describes the monastery as an exceptional example of medieval Armenian monastic architecture, with Armenian inscriptions, cross-stones (khachkars) and centuries of Armenian Christian history.
The campaign, however, goes well beyond Geghard. On September 22, the psuedo organization announced the creation of a working group to study what it calls “Albanian Christian heritage” across present-day Armenia, including churches, monasteries, chapels and khachkars in Syunik, Vayots Dzor and the Lake Sevan basin. It also linked that work to the historical and cultural foundations of its broader “return” agenda concerning present-day Armenia.
The same narrative has already been promoted in occupied Artsakh. Earlier this month, Azerbaijani presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev presented Gandzasar and Dadivank to foreign diplomats as monuments of “ancient Caucasian Albania.” What had largely been directed at Armenian heritage in Artsakh is now being applied to monuments inside Armenia itself.
That expansion also raises questions about Yerevan’s own messaging.
On September 17, Pashinyan described the “Western Azerbaijan” narrative as a serious security threat to Armenia and regional peace. Yet one week later, at the UN General Assembly, he again emphasized peace with Azerbaijan and argued that disputes over history and historical-cultural monuments should not outweigh the results achieved between the two countries.
The contradiction is difficult to miss. As Pashinyan and his government continue to speak of peace and normalization with Baku, the same “Western Azerbaijan” narrative they have identified as a security threat is being extended from occupied Artsakh to Armenia’s territory, history and cultural heritage increasingly into its scope.
