Peace-building activists issue statement on ongoing fighting in the South Caucasus

Two statements on ongoing fighting in the South Caucasus were submitted to JAMnews. Their authors are participants in peacekeeping initiatives in the South Caucasus. Each of the appeals has dozens of signatures.

Statement on the escalation over Nagorny Karabakh 

As people actively engaged in promoting peace in the South Caucasus, we are extremely alarmed about the escalation of hostilities around Nagorny Karabakh and the resulting deaths of peaceful civilians.

We speak out in support of our Armenian and Azerbaijani friends and colleagues, and to all those who, understanding the catastrophe of war for ordinary people, have persistently sought ways to further peace in the most difficult circumstances and unfavourable political and geopolitical conditions.

We are deeply concerned that without an immediate end to hostilities, there is a risk of further destabilisation throughout the Caucasus and of a new humanitarian crisis.

It is regretful that existing instruments and mechanisms for the regulation of the conflict have been unable to avert this military escalation and that it hasn’t proved possible to enforce the ceasefire, let alone conclude a peace agreement.

Efforts invested in objective investigations of border incidents and assessments of provocative acts have proved insufficient. There has been insufficient deployment of the full range of international tools to encourage the conflicting parties to adopt peaceful solutions.

These bloody conflicts in the Caucasus emerged with the collapse of the Soviet empire nearly 30 years ago, but today we are living in different times. The inertia of this violence must not be allowed to be passed on to the next generations along with the hatred, destruction and war.

Today, the interdependence of people from different countries is increasingly felt, whether in terms of energy, clean water, climate change or pandemics. All the more dangerous and unacceptable then is the crude clarification of relations between conflicting parties through the use of force.

New times require new approaches – maybe not so quick and simple, but more peaceful, humane and long-term.

Understanding the complexity and danger of the current situation, we still hope that people of goodwill will prevail over the inertia of war and find a way to a just and sustainable peace.

We call on all parties, including the international community, to take decisive measures to end hostilities and to begin a new phase of the peace process.

The statement is signed by:

We, the undersigned, are deeply disturbed by the reports of armed clashes and human casualties in the Karabakh conflict zone. Military confrontation is a path to nowhere for people who have tied their fate with this land.

With this appeal, we want to support Armenians and Azerbaijanis, our friends and colleagues, all those who have suffered and are still suffering from the unresolved conflict in Karabakh, all who believe that there is no acceptable solution to the conflict through human sacrifice and ruined destinies.

We call on all those in power to stop the bloodshed, to abandon policies that lead to violence or condone violence and to do everything possible to return the parties to peace negotiations.

The statement is signed by: