VATICAN, 1 Oct. Pope Francis called for establishing dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan, expressing hope for an agreement to end the humanitarian crisis.
«These days I am following the dramatic situation with refugees in Nagorno-Karabakh,» he said after the traditional Sunday sermon in St. Peter's Square.
“I reiterate my call for dialogue between Azerbaijan and Armenia. I hope that negotiations between the parties, with the support of the international community, will contribute to a long-term agreement that will put an end to the humanitarian crisis,” the pontiff said, addressing the faithful from the window of the Apostolic Palace.
Pope Francis also said that he is praying for the victims of the explosion at a gas station near Stepanakert. Earlier, local rescuers reported that 170 bodies and fragments of remains were found at the site of a fuel tank explosion in Nagorno-Karabakh.
At the end of September, Pope Francis already called for a cessation of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh and the search for peaceful solutions for the benefit of the people. Then, according to him, in this region “the already critical humanitarian situation worsened.”
Nagorno-Karabakh, which announced its withdrawal from the Azerbaijan SSR 35 years ago and, after the armed conflict with Azerbaijan of 1992-1994, existed for many years as an unrecognized republic, announced the end of its existence on January 1, 2024.
In September 2020, fighting resumed in Karabakh. Through Moscow's mediation, the parties agreed to a ceasefire. The Armenian side lost all areas around Karabakh and a number of territories that were part of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region. In addition, Russian peacekeepers are stationed in the region. Armenia never recognized Karabakh, and its Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, in negotiations with the West, and then at a press conference in Yerevan in May 2023, stated that Karabakh is part of the territory of Azerbaijan.
On September 19, 2023, Azerbaijan launched a military operation in Karabakh, one of the goals of which was the dissolution of all bodies of the unrecognized republic. Yerevan characterized these actions as aggression, saying that there are no Armenian units in Karabakh. A day later, through the mediation of Russian peacekeepers, an agreement on a ceasefire was reached; among the conditions of the truce, in particular, the disarmament of the Armenian formations was outlined. Afterwards, several rounds of negotiations between representatives of Karabakh and Baku took place, dedicated to the integration of the region into the republic. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that Azerbaijan has restored its territorial integrity.