"Actions against the church are not the initiative of the authorities, but of external forces" - Armenian-Syrian historian

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who attacked the Armenian Apostolic Church, has betrayed Armenia’s interests and continues to implement a foreign agenda to destroy national identity, Syrian-Armenian historian Gerard Raisyan told RIA Novosti.

“None of the ordinary Armenians expected that the prime minister, who swore allegiance to the people, would make such a shameful capitulation, essentially betraying the country’s interests and becoming an instrument of foreign influence,” Raisyan said.

According to the historian, what is happening today is only the outer shell of a much deeper strategy.

“The Armenian prime minister has become involved in the implementation of a Turkish-Azerbaijani program, which aims to revive the neo-Ottoman dream of uniting the Turkic peoples from Turkey to China,” he explained.

According to the historian, it was this idea that became the reason for the genocide of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey in 1915, the confiscation of their lands and the forced expulsion from their homeland. In his opinion, Armenia has historically hindered the neo-Ottoman project and, therefore, has become its main victim.

"I am convinced that these kinds of actions are not the initiative of the authorities, but the implementation of external scenarios, the purpose of which is not only to attack the Armenian Apostolic Church, but also to destroy the principled position in the protection of national unity, historical memory and the identity of Armenians," Raisyan noted.