The Belgian cellist of Armenian origin Sevak Avanesyan gave a short concert in the cathedral of the city of Shushi (unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Artsakh). “Kommersant” reported.

“I flew there to tell the world: you can’t shoot churches, it’s just not normal. I played here the music of our great composer Komitas, who barely escaped the genocide and was forced to leave his homeland,” Mr. Avanesyan told a Kommersant correspondent. “After that, Komitas wrote the song “Krunk”, translated as “Crane”. Every Armenian who lives outside of Armenia, when he sees a crane in the sky, asks him: “How is the homeland there?” Unfortunately, I myself do not live in Armenia, and this is very significant music for me. “

Sevak Avanesyan also intends to come to the Shushi mosque to perform Persian music there. “There are not many Muslims living here, but Armenians respect someone else’s religion, keep other people’s churches. We are protecting mosques, not bombing them,” he told a Kommersant correspondent.