22/09/2023

On September 19, the government of the Republic of Azerbaijan launched the so-called “anti-terrorist operation” in Nagorno-Karabakh. The escalation was preceded with the news on the explosion of several Azerbaijani citizens on the landmines in Karabakh. This tragedy cannot justify the obviously preplanned military attack that followed. As a result of this escalation, hundreds of people died and were injured, including many civilians.

History has shown that attempting to “force” conflict resolution through military means leads to disastrous consequences. Conflicts cannot and should not be resolved by the extortion of local populations. We have seen tragic examples in Western Balkans, Middle East and other regions where violent conflict and unilateral actions have only deepened the wounds and prolonged suffering.

Throughout the decades of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, not enough has been done for reconciliation and building ground for coexistence. The political elites did not invest efforts in creating conditions for peaceful coexistence and security guarantees for the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh. Today the failure to develop security guarantees raise the concerns of ethnic cleansing and forced displacement of a great number of people.

The international community has also failed to facilitate a peaceful resolution to this longstanding conflict, prevent further complication of the current situation, and more importantly ensure the safety and rights of the local population in Nagorno-Karabakh. While they have claimed that it is a moral imperative to recognize the absolute value of human lives, the imperialistic powers of Russia, Turkey and NATO treat the lives of people as dispensable to their geopolitical and economic interests. 

Now the priority should be the safety of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. The most vulnerable population of the region needs to be provided with immediate humanitarian aid. Anyone who decides to leave the region should be provided with the evacuation possibilities in a way which upholds their dignity. We call for everyone in their capacity to do everything to save and establish a peaceful life for the Armenian people either evacuating from Nagorno-Karabakh or staying there.

We demand from the Azerbaijani authorities to immediately stop violence and blockade, to provide a safe passage for displaced people to Armenia or back home, and to create conditions for the protection of life and dignity of the Karabakh Armenians.

We reiterate that war, armed actions, mutual threats cannot be a method of achieving peace. They only bring grief and fuel enmity. No hostilities shall be resumed, and all efforts should be invested in the work of creating conditions for peaceful coexistence.

Post-Soviet Peace, is a group of people who stand for peace, from the post-Soviet space and its neighborhood, exhausted by never-ending nationalist wars and growing imperialist rivalry on our territories. 

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