Spiritual leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia to meet in Moscow
By Amina Nazarli
Moscow will host a meeting between Chairman of the Caucasus Muslims Office Sheikhulislam Allahshukur Pashazade and Catholicos of all Armenians Karekin II .
The meeting, to be organized with the mediation of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill, is scheduled for September 8, according to preliminary data.
The last meeting of two spiritual leaders was held in Moscow in November 2016, where they expressed intention to continue such meetings through intermediaries.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.
Armenia still controls fifth part of Azerbaijan's territory and rejects implementing four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts.
More than two decades have passed since the ceasefire agreement. For all these years, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has been supposed to find a solution by peaceful means. However, the reluctance of Armenia does not let to end the conflict and to restore peace in the South Caucasus.
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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli
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