Time for reconciliation with end of Azerbaijan-Armenia war

Elchin Amirbayov

  ROME - With the war between Azerbaijan and Armenia over, there is a need to transform the “after” into an opportunity. They are two neighbouring countries and it cannot be avoided, we need to reconcile with the Armenians and think about the future of our children. These are the intentions for the future of the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Vice-president and wife, Mehriban Aliyeva.

  This was indicated on May 7 by Elchin Amirbayov, the former Azerbaijani ambassador who presented his credentials in 2005 at the Holy See and is today the assistant of the vicepresident. In a visit to the Italian capital, Elchin reiterated the commitment of his country in the ongoing restorations and those going on in several Roman monuments and catacombs, as a sign of the desire for dialogue and respect between the Azerbaijani Muslim majority and all other religions.

  “In 1992 diplomatic relations began between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Holy See, and in 2022 they will turn 30,” explained Amirbayov, the first ambassador to the Vatican. He then recalled “the ban on religion set by the Soviet Union,” from whom his country declared their independence in 1991.

  Today Azerbaijan is a country that favours politics of multiculturalism and dialogue between different cultures and religions. Today there are several different religious communities that live together, in harmony, peace and mutual respect, even if the majority of the country are Muslim, 10 percent Shiite and the rest Sunni, “without forgetting that we are a secular republic. But where “every citizen can choose a religion or decide to change without any problem.”

  In addition, there is the “unusual fact among Muslim countries, of our two papal visits.” In 2002, continues Elchin, “John Paul II said that Azerbaijan can be taken as an example of religious tolerance and intercultural dialogue, an appreciation that honours us and that knows the truth.” In 2006 Pope Francis came and it was a sort of “recognition of this spirit of multiculturalism and inter religious dialogue.” 

  Asked about Francis’ work in the Muslim world to combat extremism, the Azerbaijani diplomat considered that the pope represents the spirit of openness within the church, because “there is no alternative to dialogue."

  He recalled also the speech which Pope Francis gave to the Diplomatic Corps, on the topic of several world religions: “he underlined the importance of restoring the spirit of peace and stability in the reconciliation between Armenians and Azerbaijanis, a very important message because he said that that conflict had nothing to do with religion, not a conflict between religious civilisations but the result of the two countries’ contested territory.

  Asked about the Monastery of Dadivank, and the other churches in Karabakg heavily damaged in the course of the conflict, the former ambassador reiterated that these things were never premeditated. “They are in our territory and it is our duty to reconstruct these buildings, and several works have already begun.” He laments furthermore that religion was abused to exploit this war, creating a stereotype about the country. “The leaders of the Holy See with whom I have spoken have always affirmed that this was never a religious conflict.”

  “After the second 44-day war in Nagorno-Karabakh, the conflict is behind us and Azerbaijan has restored its territorial integrity,” assured the ex ambassador. “We haven’t occupied a centimetre of Armenian territory, only given the precedence of international law because in 1993 the UN Security Council had called for the withdrawal of Armenian forces in our territory.” 

  He concluded that the hope is that it is not “a war of winners and losers but an opportunity to reestablish peace in our region between the two countries. Armenians must understand that this is a historic opportunity.”

 

hsm-ol

Dadivank monastery, which came under the control of predominantly Muslim Azerbaijan according to a cease-fire agreed in November 2020.