Diplomat, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Azerbaijan to Georgia (2006-2011) and Moldova (2011-2016), Doctor of Juridical Science , Professor Namig Aliyev gave an exclusive interview to Eurasia Diary on a unique historical document that shed light on the history of the Caucasus, the "Azerbaijan and Armenia Platform for Peace ", and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Eurasia Diary: We know that you have found a memorandum from the Tiflis military department about the intention of Nestorian Armenians living in Persia near Salmast to accept Russian citizenship and their readiness to cooperate with Russia against Persia. It is interesting to know how this historical document passed through your hands.

Namig Aliyev: While in Tbilisi, we established great relations with Georgian scientists, historians, representatives of the humanities sector. Ultimately, I got the opportunity to work in the Georgian Tbilisi National Archives. During this period, many documents passed through my hands, and among them was this letter written by the Tbilisi military governor about the petition of the Armenian merchant Anton Grikurov regarding the cooperation and the acquisition of Russian citizenship. This document is of great importance, primarily because it was dated to the 19th century-1824 to be more precise. Along with other documents that we managed to get, this one shows how important is the factual base that is in the Tbilisi national archive. These documents shed light on the very dark stories of how the Azerbaijani khanates became subordinate to Russia, how they were divided between Persia and Russia, and what generally happened during this crucial historical period.

Eurasia Diary: What is the historical value of this document?

Namig Aliyev: As I have already noted, this document is a confirmation of the Armenians intentions to serve Russia for the sake of conquering Azerbaijan, which is the goal that we have always tried to deliver to the world community. For example, as seen in the text, Grikurov, addressing to the Tiflis military governor, demonstrated his willingness to serve Russia, only if it gave Armenians the same honors as the Ottoman Empire and Persia did. It’s important that they want the same, if not better, living conditions as before, but at the same time they are ready to betray the interests of the country, in which they live, in order to receive some benefits on the territory of Russia and explore the Azerbaijani lands for further settlement on them.

You can read the full version of the interview from here.