Engagement of сivil society and decision-makers in peaceful settlement of the Karabakh problem

The Karabakh conflict settlement process has been in focus at the international academic workshop ‘Caucasus-2016’, in Yerevan, today.

A project entitled ‘Engagement of Civil Society and Decision-Makers in Peaceful Settlement of the Karabakh Problem’ has been launched by the Caucasus Institute, with the assistance from the UK government’s Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF). The project aims to ensure the engagement of the Armenian and Nagorno-Karabakh civil society and government in a dialogue for peaceful resolution of the Karabakh conflict.

The international academic workshop ‘Caucasus-2016’ is the first in the series of events held as part of the aforesaid project. Experts from Armenia, Karabakh, Georgia and Russia, expressed their opinions during the workshop.

Judith Margaret Farnworth, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland to Armenia, expressed hope that the project would become a good platform, allowing to find a peaceful solution to this problem. In view of the developments in April 2016 [the active hostilities that were later named as the ‘April war’], the UK Ambassador regards the Karabakh conflict as one of the major regional problems.

“Judging by the media and political circles, there is an intensified desire for conflict settlement. We support the OSCE Minsk Group’s efforts towards maintaining security in the region, as well as the so-called Track II dialogue between the people of Armenia and Azerbaijan,” said Judith Farnworth.

As the UK Ambassador also pointed out, the international workshop ‘Caucasus-2016’ aimed to discuss the issues related to the peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict, as well as to assess the risks and try to figure out how to avoid their possible consequences.

The opinions expressed in the article convey the author’s terminology and views and do not necessarily reflect the position of the editorial staff