Serj Tankian has discussed the “high probability of genocide of Armenians” in a new interview.

Tankian’s comments come as shelling continues in the Republic of Artsakh, an ethnic Armenian region internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, this month, with observers warning that a genocide against Armenians in the region is imminent.

Speaking about the situation to The FADER, Tankian wrote: “After the Nagorno-Karabakh War ended in 1994 a ceasefire was signed and the Armenians of Artsakh were able to establish a republic, a modern democracy with its own parliament. Azerbaijan has never forgiven the Armenians for winning the war.

“Since then, from a young age, children in Azerbaijani schools have been taught to hate Armenians while the President of Azerbiajan, Ilham Aliyev, dismisses the Armenian Genocide of 1915 — in which Ottoman Turkish forces systematically massacred 1.5 million Armenians and sent others seeking refuge abroad — as a ‘myth,’ despite a clear consensus among historians.”

Listen to ‘Artsakh’, a song Tankian wrote in 2016 for the people of the region, below.

Tankian’s statement continued: “Today Armenian people face an existential threat as Turkish-backed Azerbaijani forces attack residential areas, maternity hospitals, and cathedrals in the Republic of Artsakh, even using cluster bombs, in direct contravention of international law.

“The Azerbaijani Minister of Foreign Affairs is the same man responsible for indoctrinating his country’s children against another race — he was the Minister of Education until this past July.

“The specter of genocide hangs over this moment. For indigineous Armenians inside Artsakh, residents of Armenia, and members of the Armenian diaspora around the world, the repeated attacks on Artsakh — and the racist rhetoric used to justify them — are a bitter reminder of the 1915 genocide.”

Tankian added that there was now a “high probability of genocide of Armenians if Azerbaijani troops takeover Artsakh. We are fighting an existential battle, a challenge of a lifetime.”

Earlier this year, Tankian admitted it was frustrating being “politically opposite” to System Of A Down drummer John Dolmayan.

Dolmayan has praised Donald Trump publicly on a number of occasions in recent months, saying that Trump is the “most attacked president in history yet the greatest friend to minorities” back in June.

He also criticised the Democratic Party and the Black Lives Matter movement in July, saying that the latter “never had legitimacy” and that it serves as a “propaganda tool” for the Democrats.