YEREVAN, MARCH 2, ARMENPRESS. Povilas Urbšys, Member of Parliament of Lithuania, issued a statement on the 30th anniversary of mass massacres of Armenians in the Azerbaijani city of Sumgait, reports Armenpress.

The statement says dozens of Armenians have been killed during the massacres in Sumgait on February 27-28, 1988, 18.000 were forced to leave the city, their homes and property.

According to the statement, the Sumgait Pogroms were aggressive response to the peaceful demonstrations of the Nagorno Karabakh liberation movement. “The Soviet authorities couldn’t prevent these anti-Armenian actions. The government didn’t want to stop the abovementioned violence in Soviet Azerbaijan. Not taking steps by the Soviet authorities led to bloody massacres of Armenians in Baku, Kirovabad and other cities”, the statement says.

The MP says from the first days of the Karabakh liberation movement the Lithuanians provided both political and moral support to the people of Nagorno Karabakh.

He reminded that the European Parliament adopted a resolution on July 7, 1988 which says that “the Armenian massacres in Sumgait and the acts of violence against Armenians in Baku are a threat to the security of the Armenian population living in Azerbaijan”, and condemned the violence against Armenians.

Summing up the statement, the lawmaker stated that over the recent period the territorial claims by the Azerbaijani leadership to Armenia do not contribute to the main goal – the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict based on the international principles and norms.

English –translator/editor: Aneta Harutyunyan