Simonyan avoids confronting Hajiyev publicly over Gandzasar distortion, citing peace talks

(Horizon Media / YEREVAN) – Armenia’s Security Council Secretary Alen Simonyan has refused to publicly confront Azerbaijani presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev over his distortion of the Armenian identity of Gandzasar, arguing that a forceful response could harm negotiations with Baku.

Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Simonyan confirmed that he discussed the September 12 Gandzasar incident directly with Hajiyev, but declined to disclose what he told him. He also revealed that the two officials are in frequent contact, saying they speak approximately every two days.

Hajiyev had taken foreign diplomats to Gandzasar and Dadivank in Artsakh, presenting the centuries-old Armenian monasteries as part of “Caucasian Albanian” heritage. At Gandzasar, he displayed blank pages from museum reproductions of Armenian manuscripts and used them to suggest that Armenians had falsified the region’s history.

Yet when reporters pressed Simonyan on why he would not respond publicly, he said a sharp reaction might make Armenians “feel good for 15 minutes” but could damage the negotiations.

More strikingly, when specifically asked whether he had told Hajiyev that Gandzasar is Armenian rather than “Caucasian Albanian,” Simonyan avoided giving a direct answer. He instead questioned where such a discussion would lead and said Armenia should not place its identity and the peace process “in conflict with each other.”

The remarks leave an extraordinary asymmetry: a senior Azerbaijani official can publicly challenge the Armenian identity of one of Artsakh’s most important religious and cultural monuments before an international diplomatic audience, while Armenia’s Security Council chief presents publicly defending that identity as a potential threat to peace negotiations.

Simonyan also declined to criticize Azerbaijan for failing to exercise the same restraint he demands from the Armenian side, saying he is responsible only for Armenia’s conduct.

Hajiyev’s manuscript claims have meanwhile been directly refuted by the Matenadaran. Director Ara Khzmalyan explained that the books displayed at Gandzasar were specially produced exhibition replicas, while the original manuscripts remain preserved in Yerevan. Only selected pages were reproduced, leaving the remaining pages intentionally blank.

Khzmalyan also stressed that historical documents and manuscripts preserved at the Matenadaran attest to Gandzasar’s centuries-long Armenian history, describing the monastery as one of the Armenian people’s major spiritual and cultural centres.

While Azerbaijan used the diplomatic visit to advance its narrative about Armenian heritage in Artsakh before an international audience, Simonyan’s response was to defend silence and restraint—insisting that publicly pushing back could endanger the “much-desired peace.”