09 February 2019, 13:06
Azerbaijanis in Georgia demand to demolish monument to Mikhail Avagyan
The participants of the action in Tbilisi have stated that Azerbaijanis' protests will continue until the monument to Mikhail Avagyan, a veteran of the Nagorno-Karabakh War, erected in Akhalkalaki, is dismantled.
The monument to Mikhail Avagyan, an Armenian participant in the Nagorno-Karabakh War, was opened on January 20, 2019, in the Georgian village of Bugashen, municipality of Akhalkalaki. During the Nagorno-Karabakh War, he was wounded by a sniper during the battle for the Goradiz Bridge and died, the "epress.am" writes.
The protesters treat the monument as a provocation and believe that it was done to worsen the Azerbaijani-Georgian relations.
"This is a blow to our friendship, which the Georgian party is constantly emphasizing," the "Georgia Online" quotes Azer Suleimanov, a Georgian MP, as saying.
The erection of the monument caused Azerbaijan's outrage. The Azeri ambassador to Georgia expressed his protest against the opening of the monument, and the Georgian ambassador was invited to the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), the "Media.az" reports.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 9, 2019 at 08:00 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.