With ” pain “ et ” worry “, the Patriarch of the Armenian Apostolic Church reacted, Wednesday, September 14, to the clashes which took place at the beginning of the week on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. In an appeal to the international community, Karekin II denounced the “provocative military actions initiated by Azerbaijan”, two years after the ceasefire signed to end the fighting in the Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. On Tuesday, more than a hundred people died in the deadliest escalation in the region since 2020.
“The 2020 war and the attacks on Armenia’s borders, which have not been properly assessed by the international community, have encouraged Azerbaijan to try to obtain the concessions it wants through unremitting military activities. », denounced the patriarch, while Azerbaijan accuses Armenia of having violated the ceasefire agreement. “Obviously the enemy has not changed, nor have their aspirations and intentions. »
According to observers, Azerbaijan’s offensive would be a means of forcing Armenia’s hand in the implementation of certain provisions of the ceasefire, on which depends the signing of a more lasting peace treaty.
“Meaningful dialogue”
“We appeal to the international community, in particular to countries that are friends with us, to encourage them to take effective measures to put an end to the numerous acts of aggression and to the ambitions of Azerbaijan with regard to the Armenian world, thus implored the Patriarch of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Two years ago, Karékine II had alerted, in the columns of the Italian daily The Republicon the risk of again “genocide” Armenians. This allusion referred to the genocide of 1915, during which 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turkey.
On Thursday 15 September, the World Council of Churches and the Conference of European Churches also reacted to renewed fighting in the region. They mentioned in particular the vote on a resolution, during their Assembly meeting in Karlsruhe, from August 31 to September 8, aimed at “start a meaningful dialogue for a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh”and renew their call to avoid further escalation.