Thursday morning, Catholicos Aram I of the Armenian Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia was visited by the papal nuncio to Lebanon, Joseph Spiteri, according to the Facebook page of the Catholicos.
Spiteri conveyed the fraternal greetings of Pope Francis to Aram I and handed him a letter on behalf of the Pope.
Also, they discussed the cooperation between the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia and the Vatican, and the issue of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) became a subject of special attention during this talk. In this connection, Aram I conveyed the Armenians’ concerns and expectations from the Pope and the Vatican Secretary of State, emphasizing the imperative of recognizing Artsakh’s independence.
The papal nuncio, in turn, informed Aram I that the Vatican was following the developments in Artsakh, always being in touch in this regard, especially with Russia.
To note, on November 9, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a joint statement on a complete cessation of hostilities—which Azerbaijan had launched on September 27—in and around Artsakh. Accordingly, Russian peacekeepers are deployed in the region to monitor the implementation of the ceasefire and the cessation of hostilities. But this statement also stipulates the handover of part of Artsakh lands to Azerbaijan.
