Chairman of Caucasian Muslims Office: Karabakh conflict is over, it’s time to talk about future

“We believe that the Karabakh conflict is over and it is time to talk about the future, about peace, and strive to make the region stable and secure,” Chairman of the Caucasian Muslims Office Sheikh-ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazade said following the trilateral meeting of the religious leaders of Azerbaijan, Russia and Armenia in Moscow, Russian bureau of Report informs.

Pashazade expressed deep gratitude to the Russian Orthodox Church represented by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia for “valuable peacemaking efforts that continue to this day in the name of establishing a stable peace.”

“Dear brother! We are immensely grateful to Your Holiness for the peacemaking work, commitment to a peaceful and just resolution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict for many years. We remember very well your determination to continue the dialogue and achieve mutual trust.

Thanks to your wise position and peacekeeping mission, it was possible to prevent the escalation of the conflict into interreligious confrontation, despite the interest of certain forces to transfer it to the interreligious plane,” Pashazade added.

He reminded that the Republic of Azerbaijan, under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, on the basis of its sovereign rights, in accordance with the UN Charter, UN Security Council resolutions and decisions of other international organizations, restored its territorial integrity, recognized by the international community: “The situation created after the signing of the Statement of the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia of November 10, 2020, which put an end to hostilities and armed conflict between the two countries, creates opportunities for a new era in the South Caucasus, where there should be no place for revanchist rhetoric, calls for revenge, enmity between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and cooperation should begin for the benefit of our peoples.”

“On the political and geographical map of Azerbaijan, there is no unit called Nagorno-Karabakh. The Armenians living today in Khankendi and adjacent settlements are, like representatives of other ethnic groups, citizens of Azerbaijan and are obliged to comply with Azerbaijani legislation. As for the status, this issue is not a subject of discussion for Azerbaijan, especially within the framework of interreligious dialogue,” said the chairman of the Caucasian Muslims Office.

He welcomed the efforts to promote peaceful coexistence and good neighborliness of all the peoples of the Caucasus: “The grave consequences of the conflict should not become an obstacle to reconciliation for the sake of the future.”