Armenia and Armenian researchers have been "deliberately" left out of the conference “Cities on the Edge. Exploring Late Antique urbanism in the Southern Caucasus (AD 300–600) organized by Aarhus University (Denmark) and the University of Oxford, archaeologist Hamlet Petrosyan said in a statement on Sunday, June 27.

"With pain and disappointment we inform that amid such a tragic situation in the Caucasus, a number of our esteemed colleagues have taken the path of obvious political approaches by joining the conference “Cities on the Edge. Exploring Late Antique Urbanism in the Southern Caucasus (AD 300–600)”, where Armenia, Armenian cities and Armenian specialists were deliberately left out," Petrosyan said.

"It is impossible to present the urban culture of the Caucasus without Armenian cities, Armenian primary sources and researchers. But there is nothing new about this. I am sorry that my good friends Lara Fabian and Murtuzali Gadjiev, who are on the list of participants, did not report such an outrageous breach of academic conduct.

"It is not a matter of misunderstanding, but of deliberate orientation. If personal interest is higher than scientific integrity, there is no point in asking, explaining, or expecting honesty."

Petrosyan is the Head of Archaeological Expedition of Dvin and of the Archaeological Expedition of Tigranakert of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). The latter remained under Azerbaijan's control in the aftermath of the Second Karabakh War in fall 2020.