Three recent events that have occurred in this region, which went widely unnoticed in Europe, reveal a concerted strategy. Through the manipulation of heritage, the glorification of controversial figures and an ostentatious regional alliance, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Pakistan orchestrate a progressive erasure of the Armenian heritage in the service of an assumed Panturquist project.
Ani: When the restoration becomes erasure.
On the Turkish-Armenian border, the medieval site of Ani, formerly capital of the Armenian kingdom of the Bagratides and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage, is the subject of a controversial restoration. Led by Ankara without consultation with Armenian experts, she transforms the presentation of the place. Ani Cathedral, a jewel of eastern Christian architecture, is now presented, above all, like the “Fethiye mosque” (conquest mosque) of the name given under the Seldjouk occupation. The term “Armenian” remains absent from tourist brochures. UNESCO, which has remained silent, is called upon to diligen an independent investigation.
Talaat Pasha: the provocation assumed.
On June 21, 2025, 28 Turkish deputies from the Iyi party, from a split in the far-right MHP party, proposed to rename the Alican border post between Turkey and Armenia by the name of Talaat Pacha, one of the 3 architects of the Armenian genocide. This initiative testifies to a double language on the part of the Turkish authorities: while intentions of “normalization” are displayed, one of the key figures of state negation policy is honored. The mayor of Ankara also inaugurated a memorial in his honor last month. The Zoryan Institute offers an alternative that would have symbolic repair value: appoint the border post in tribute to Hrant Dink, Armeno-Turkish journalist murdered in 2007 because he had worked to a more inclusive Turkish company.
Stepanakert: a triumphant staging.
On July 4, 2025, in Stepanakert, the ex-hood of Haut-Karabakh emptied of its Armenian population following a blockade of the month of which the International Criminal Court (ICC) said it was illegal, then a Azérie military offensive in September 2023, was held a summit in particular the Turkish, Azerbaijani and Pakistani leaders. “Three states, one nation,” proclaimed Recep Tayyip Erdogan after the summit. The imaging mobilized on occasion by the press close to power (three wolves, symbol of Turkish ultra -nationalists) translates regional ambitions. This staging, which is held on human and cultural ruins, marginalizes Armenia and denies the very existence of its heritage in the conquered territories.
Swiss opportunity.
Faced with this offensive, Switzerland has a single lever. The parliamentary motion 24.4259, adopted in 2024, invites the Federal Council to organize an international forum for peace, focused on a dialogue between Azerbaijan and the representatives of the Armenians of Haut-Karabakh. The objective is to promote a sure and lasting return of the populations displaced by force.
This initiative is part of the Swiss mediation diplomatic tradition. While the silence of the international community fuels regional impunity, the Confederation can make an independent and legitimate voice heard. It remains to convince the government to concretize this motion in a context dominated by the logic of power.
The stake exceeds the only Caucasus: it is the architecture of international law that is tested. Switzerland’s response will determine whether multilateral diplomacy can still block the programmed erasure of minority peoples.
