This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

C O N F I D E N T I A L YEREVAN 002182 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/SNEC, EUR/CACEN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/16/2015 
TAGS: PREL PHUM AM AJ
SUBJECT: CURIOUS TIMING OF GOAM PRESS RELEASE ON 
NAKHICHEVAN INCIDENT 
 
Classified By: CDA A.F. Godfrey for reasons 1.4 (b, d). 
 
¶1. (C) The GOAM distributed a press release on December 15 
denouncing what it called "barbarous" vandalism of Armenian 
cultural monuments by Azeri soldiers in the Nakhichevan 
region along the Azerbaijan-Armenia border.  The statement, 
citing reports by Armenian priests, claimed that 100 
Azerbaijani soldiers had destroyed Armenian "Khatchkars" 
(tombstones in the form of crosses) in an Armenian cemetery 
along the banks of the Arax river on December 15.  The press 
release suggested that the actions were part of an 
Azerbaijani campaign to "erase traces of Armenian history" in 
that part of Azerbaijan.  (Note:  We have been not been able 
to confirm these reports or the veracity of photographs 
allegedly taken on December 15 of Azerbaijani soldiers "armed 
with sledgehammers."  End Note.)  The first announcement on 
December 15 came in the form of an early afternoon press 
release from Armenia's Embassy in Tehran.  The MFA 
distributed the release to journalists later the same day on 
the margins of Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian's press 
conference summing up the December 14-15 visit of the OSCE 
Minsk Group Co-Chairs.  Local press carried the story 
December 15 and 16, highlighting the press release's call on 
the international community to "prevent cultural genocide by 
Azerbaijan."  Post will forward a full text of the press 
release to the Department. 
 
¶2. (C) Comment:  While details of the alleged incident are 
still unclear, the timing of the announcement raises serious 
questions about the flow of information and the decision to 
distribute the release during Oskanian's press conference. 
Heads-up calls to the Embassy from the MFA and the Armenian 
Assembly of America suggest that the MFA was especially 
interested in ensuring that we had noted the information.  On 
a day filled with upbeat news about prospects for a 
resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the MFA's 
decision to circulate third-hand reports in an official, 
strongly-worded press release is likely to anger nationalist 
elements in Armenia and spur a response from counterparts in 
Baku. 
GODFREY