I refer to the letter “ Why China must not stay neutral as Armenia and Azerbaijan clash again ” (October 13). The Armenian community of Hong Kong was very disappointed with the omission of some key facts. Nagorno-Karabakh has been populated by Armenians for centuries, as evidenced by the hundreds of churches and monasteries in the region, with some dating from the seventh century. The recent dispute over control of the region dates from 1921. Soviet leader Josef Stalin, as part of his “divide-and-rule” policy throughout the Soviet Union, placed Nagorno-Karabakh, largely populated by Christian Armenians, within Soviet Azerbaijan, populated by Muslim Azeris. Armenia and Azerbaijan agree to declare ‘humanitarian truce’ Nagorno-Karabakh became an autonomous region within Soviet Azerbaijan, given a fair degree of self-rule. Over the next 70 years the people of Nagorno-Karabakh publicly and peacefully requested to be taken out of the Azerbaijani borders. Petitions were sent to Moscow in 1964, 1965, and 1987. Before the Soviet Union collapsed – before the modern Republic of Azerbaijan even existed – a public referendum, which was allowed in the Soviet Constitution, was held in Nagorno-Karabakh, with more than 99 per cent of votes cast in favour of independence. Azerbaijan objected to recognising the referendum results, and this led to a brutal war from 1992-1994, when a ceasefire was signed. Negotiations led by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe Minsk Group had begun looking at ways to peacefully resolve the situation, aiming to balance the territorial sovereignty of Azerbaijan and the rights and protections of the Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians. For nearly three decades since then, Nagorno-Karabakh has been home to a thriving community with a democratically elected government, free press and civil society. This was the status of the situation until the coordinated attacks from Azerbaijan, supported by Turkey, on September 27 . It is also now well documented that Syrian mercenaries are being sent to fight against Armenians. These attacks have also complicated the security of the entire region. Armenia is not trying to invite third parties, including China, to take sides . Rather, it calls on the whole international community to support the mandated international format of negotiations: the co-chairmanship of the OSCE Minsk Group. The Armenian and Chinese nations have had an excellent relationship for centuries and this has only increased in strength in recent years. The author of the letter cited is entitled to her opinion but it is important to offer the complete historical picture. Henri Arslanian, president, The Armenian Community of Hong Kong and China