Azernews.Az

Armenian Catholicos Garegin II has sent a letter to the Azerbaijani clerical leader after their meeting on the sidelines of a summit of top clerics from post-Soviet countries in Yerevan.

Garegin II said in the message that he was pleased to meet Caucasus Muslims Office (CMO) chairman, Sheikhulislam Allahshukur Pashazada in the Armenian capital on Monday. He wrote that discussions between the spiritual leaders on issues of concern for the region’s nations are a significant contribution to the solution of outstanding problems, including the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno Karabakh.

Russian Patriarch Kirill attended the Yerevan meeting as well.

"Our previous meetings, mediated by the Patriarch of Moscow and all of Russia, Kirill I, and our calls to our peoples and governments, were a major step toward peacekeeping and promotion of the environment of trust," the Armenian cleric’s letter said. "Our meeting in Yerevan and our discussions on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement, as well as our joint statement, will be undoubtedly welcomed by our peoples and will strengthen the spirit of tolerance and mutual understanding."

The statement, adopted by the Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russian clerical leaders in conclusion of their trilateral meeting in Yerevan, called for a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. They also urged the leadership of Azerbaijan and Armenia to pull back snipers to prevent bloodshed and casualties on the contact line of Azerbaijani and Armenian troops.

Azerbaijan and Armenia waged a brutal war in the early 1990s which claimed some 30,000 lives and displaced about a million Azerbaijanis. About 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory has been occupied by Armenian armed forces since then. Peace talks brokered by US, Russian and French mediators have been largely fruitless so far.