Artsakh bishop requests meeting with Vance

PanARMENIAN.Net - Archbishop Vrtanes Abrahamyan, head of the Diocese of Artsakh, has sent a letter to U.S. Vice President J. D. Vance, requesting urgent moral and diplomatic leadership on two key humanitarian concerns: the fate of Armenian captives and missing persons, and the destruction of Artsakh’s cultural heritage.

The bishop expressed his readiness to meet Vance or a senior member of his delegation to personally present proposed measures that could be implemented in the coming months.

In the letter, Abrahamyan highlighted the plight of Armenians illegally detained in Azerbaijani prisons following the September 20, 2023, ceasefire and the subsequent agreement between Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan. He also noted that many Armenians remain missing after the recent war, with their fate still unknown.

He urged the U.S. to leverage its influence to facilitate the return of Armenian prisoners of war and support the search and identification of missing persons or their remains.

“I respectfully request that the U.S. government use its influence to call on the Azerbaijani leadership to guarantee immediate and unhindered access for the International Committee of the Red Cross and other impartial monitoring bodies to all detainees,” the bishop stressed.

The second part of the letter focuses on the ongoing vandalism of Artsakh’s cultural and religious heritage, citing the destruction of Christian churches, cemeteries, and historic sites.

He pointed to damage confirmed by independent experts and observers in Azerbaijani-controlled areas, naming St. John the Baptist Church (Kanach Zham) in Shushi and the 18th-century St. Sarkis Church in Mokhrenes as examples of sacred sites already destroyed.

“On behalf of our entire clergy and faithful community, I urge you to support immediate international monitoring and documentation by UNESCO and other credible cultural and academic institutions, ensuring full access to experts and independent journalists, and backing long-term preservation and restoration initiatives for these heritage sites,” he wrote.

Abrahamyan expressed confidence that Vance’s presence in Armenia could become a pivotal moment for addressing these urgent humanitarian concerns.

Notably, Bishop Abrahamyan is among ten clerics who have called for the resignation of Catholicos Кarekin II and publicly endorsed Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s reform agenda.

U.S. Vice President is scheduled to arrive in Yerevan on February 9 and travel to Baku the following day.