“GEGHARD”
SCIENTIFIC ANALYTICAL
FOUNDATION
2025
2025
“During the next war, Armenia may completely lose its sovereignty, and the Azerbaijani army may drink Turkish tea in Yerevan, pray and perform namaz in Yerevan's Blue Mosque,” – this is an explicit threat directed at Armenia by Ahmad Shahidov, head of the Institute for Democracy and Human Rights of Azerbaijan, during the Human Dimension Meeting III organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in Vienna on June 2–3, 2025.
During the conference titled “Inclusion as a way to promote tolerance and non-discrimination,” sessions were held on combating intolerance and discrimination in a comprehensive and inclusive manner in the OSCE region; promoting inclusion through interfaith, interreligious, and intercultural dialogue and cooperation; and developing policies that contain more inclusive approaches to promote tolerance, combat discrimination, and foster equality.
Representatives of Armenian civil society organizations participating in the event raised issues concerning the rights of Armenian refugees, war crimes committed by Azerbaijan, and the destruction and appropriation of Armenian spiritual, cultural, and religious heritage—issues that require international recognition and response.
Although Azerbaijan’s official representative to the OSCE repeatedly attempted to interrupt the Armenian speakers, these efforts failed: thanks to the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights' highly receptive and principled approach, the Azerbaijani side was unable to prevent the Armenian delegation from bringing the above-mentioned issues to the attention of the international community.
In “response” to the records of Azerbaijan’s violations, Ahmad Shahidov, head of the “Institute for Democracy and Human Rights of Azerbaijan,” issued explicit threats against Armenia. Initially speaking with a veneer of false courtesy typical of “Turkish-style diplomacy,” Shahidov claimed that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was over and that Azerbaijan wished to live in peace with Armenia as neighbors. However, echoing the rhetoric of his country’s president and authorities, the Azerbaijani delegate proceeded to baselessly and repeatedly accuse Armenia of revanchism. Despite Armenia’s consistent commitment to achieving peace, Shahidov continued to reveal the Azerbaijani side’s true, aggressive posture.
The fact that the erratic and aggressive Ahmad Shahidov serves as the head of the "Institute for Democracy and Human Rights of Azerbaijan" demonstrates the true nature and perception of “democracy” as well as the concept of “Azerbaijani neighborhood” in Azerbaijan. The latter is expressed through threats of the Azerbaijani army to “drink tea” in Armenia’s capital.
We call on Ahmad Shahidov to fulfill his desire for tea drinking and prayer exclusively within the borders of Azerbaijan.