Last Monday, Taleen and I went to this man's office with the intention to taste from his extensive wine collection with our incredible Gyumretsi friend Armen. While I don't remember the man's name or the official name of his position within the organization (first class journalism, here), he headed an office that works to build cultural and political ties between the countries of the Caucuses. This fact alone made me excited to speak with him because in my opinion, peaceful negotiations and opening the borders with our neighbors should be a priority in developing Armenia's economy. Easier said than done, of course, but according to this man, it shouldn't be that hard.
If you're wondering why I went to an office that seems primarily focused on politics to taste wine, it's because of one of the many inventive ways they have gone about rebuilding this relationship. The wines we tasted were bottled under the label "Caucasus Blend" and actually mixed wines of Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. In order to import wine from Azerbaijan, you have to buy it through Georgia, and to sell the blend, you have to send it back through Georgia. But that isn't to say that their office doesn't work with Azeris. On the contrary the man we met with himself works closely with individuals from Azerbaijan and Georgia not only on this wine project but on several projects. It was invigorating to see someone working so tangibly to repair Armenia's relationship with its neighbors. Which brings me to the next topic.
Last Wednesday, all the Birthright volunteers went in to Yerevan to meet with the Minister of Defense. We all met in a beautiful government building outside the city center and the minister first gave us a small presentation and then opened up for questions. The presentation was all well and good but the questions left me and many others either rather disenchanted or more confused. Currently their is a "ceasefire" between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The quotation marks are there for obvious reasons. When asked about how he thought the conflict between the two parties would be resolved, politically or militarily, the minister explained that after the war and the ceasefire was signed, he handed the conflict over to the politicians, and he hoped it would be resolved in that realm. Which I think we were all pleased to hear, but after visiting the region over which the conflict now remains, I think it was said because he knew that was what we wanted to hear (more on that later).
Later he was asked about the casualties suffered on both sides over the past several years. While he avoided offering specific numbers, he assured us that 6 times more casualties were suffered on the Azeri side. While I'm not entirely sure why he thought this fact was reassuring, it did confirm one thing: even though Armenian politicians like to paint the conflict in such a light, it's clear that the unfounded hostility is not one-sided at all. In fact, the man with the wine, as I will now refer to him, assured us that Armenians hate Azeris way more than Azeris hate Armenians. Though I am also not sure about just how much truth is in that statement. What I do know, is that everything changes when you actually go into the conflict territory of Artsakh. And since it's getting late and my family expects me, I'll save that for a post tomorrow. But you can check out some Artsakh photos here. And here's a small taste:
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