Azernews.Az

Britain’s ambassadors to the South Caucasus countries – Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia - have welcomed in a joint statement adoption of a UN resolution calling for truce during the 2012 Olympic Games, according to the British embassy in Baku.

The Resolution on the Olympic Truce entitled "Building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal" was tabled at the UN General Assembly by the UK, as hosts of the London Olympic Games. The resolution was adopted in New York on Monday by consensus. For the first time the resolution has been sponsored by all 193 UN member states, including Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia.

"We welcome this resolution - and the fact that it was adopted unanimously. The UK has worked for many years to support peacebuilding and conflict resolution in the South Caucasus. We hope that the ideals the resolution represents can be converted into concrete steps for peace in the region," says the statement, issued by Ambassadors Peter Bateman in Baku and Charles Lonsdale in Yerevan and Charge d’Affaires Doug McMillan in Tbilisi.

The resolution focuses not just on respecting a truce around the period of the Olympic and Paralympic Games next summer but also on wider efforts to use sport to promote peaceful settlements for conflicts around the world, and achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

In ancient Greece the Olympic Games marked a period of peace when competitors and others could travel safely to take part. The International Olympic Committee revived the idea in 1992 to use sports as a means to promote the Olympic ideals and to support peace building and conflict resolution efforts.