Healing the Caucasus - Improving Peace, Prosperity and Human Rights in Azerbaijan and Armenia (ePub)

To manifest peace and prosperity in the Caucasus, the International Community is calling for peace talks to end the decades-old conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia; following the recent flare-up of violence in Nagorno-Karabakh. Germany's chancellor, Angela Merkel, has pushed for an immediate ceasefire and a return to the negotiating table in phone calls with the leaders of both countries. She told them the two countries' neighbours "should contribute to the peaceful solution", said her spokesman, Steffen Seibert. US secretary of state Mike Pompeo also said "both sides must stop the violence" and work "to return to substantive negotiations as quickly as possible". Russia, along with France, urged every country to facilitate a peaceful resolution. "We call on all countries, especially our partners such as Turkey, to do everything to convince the opposing parties to cease fire and return to peacefully resolving the conflict by politico-diplomatic means," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. So we strongly encourage the leaders of both Armenia and Azerbaijan to immediately stop the violence in the region and reach a compromise and start Peace Talks; so that the suffering of innocent civilians and children can stop, and fundamental human rights can be restored in the region. Otherwise an intervention by the NGO sector will be necessary, so that the suffering of civilians and children can finally end. It should also be noted, that the current Russia-brokered peace deal in Nagorno-Karabakh may prove to be counterproductive; as tens of thousands of ethnic Armenians are being subjected to forced displacement, civilians and children once again suffering the consequences of the century-old conflict. Political tensions have remained high in Armenia, where the truce was viewed by many as a capitulation by the government of prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan. So Prime minister Nikol Pashinyan made a huge concession here; which ought to be acknowledged by both Russia and Turkey. Especially Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, must stop fueling hostilities and hatred between the two countries; who is increasingly getting the notorious reputation of a warmonger, evildoer and mischief-maker in the region. So it is very important that President Putin - who is responsible for the Russia-brokered peace deal in the region - treats civilians on both sides fairly; especially as tens of thousands of ethnic Armenians are being subjected to forced displacement in the region.