The charges come just two weeks after Serzh Sargsyan broke his silence since leaving office, heavily criticizing the current authorities at a conference in Croatia.
The restoration has sparked arguments about whether the mosque should be considered “Persian” or “Azerbaijani,” and some locals question whether the Armenian-controlled territory should be rebuilding its mosques at all.
Hyperbolic claims by the prime minister prompted more hyperbolic – and xenophobic – conspiracy theories about the rising presence of Indians in Armenia.
Earlier this year, both sides appeared to be trying to turn down the temperature on their grievances against the other. But now the momentum seems to be going in the other direction.
Following last month’s successful Eurasian Economic Union summit in Yerevan, it was all smiles between the Russian foreign minister and Armenian officials.
Samvel Babayan was effectively disqualified after the de facto parliament declined to change a law requiring the president to be resident in the territory for the previous 10 years.
Amid a spat with Turkey, the momentum appears to be on the side of those seeking formal American recognition. But some supporters wonder if this is the right time.
The Turkic history of the khanate – on the territory of modern-day Armenia’s capital – has emerged as one of the Azerbaijani government’s main ideological weapons.
