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ANKARA: Armenian Church Leader In Historic Azerbaijan Visit

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  • ANKARA: Armenian Church Leader In Historic Azerbaijan Visit

    ARMENIAN CHURCH LEADER IN HISTORIC AZERBAIJAN VISIT

    Hurriyet
    April 27 2010
    Turkey

    Armenian Apostolic Church leader Catholicos Garegin II (C) speaks
    with the chairman of the Azerbaijani State Committee for Work on
    Religious Structures, Hidayat Orucov, while arriving in Baku.

    Religious leaders from Armenia and Azerbaijan called for a peaceful
    resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict during a landmark meeting
    in Baku, the Azerbaijani capital.

    The call came as the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Catholicos
    Garegin II, made his first-ever trip to Azerbaijan on Monday, joining
    a gathering of some 200 religious figures from around the world,
    Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, or RFE/RL, reported on its website.

    Garegin II was invited by Azerbaijan's long-serving Shiite Muslim
    leader, Sheikh ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazade, and Russian Orthodox
    Church leader Patriarch Kirill. The three met on the sidelines of
    the gathering and later issued a joint declaration pledging support
    for efforts by Yerevan, Baku, and international mediators to end the
    conflict over the disputed region.

    Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev also received Garegin II in Baku.

    They discussed the importance of the Baku summit which has brought
    together world religious leaders, News.az reported.

    Aliyev and Garegin II said the event would contribute to strengthening
    inter-faith dialogue and expanding contacts among religious leaders.

    Aliyev told participants he hoped Baku would become "a center of
    dialogue between religions."

    "Azerbaijan is a natural bridge between Europe and Asia," Aliyev said.

    "Representatives of different religions and nationalities have lived
    together in Azerbaijan throughout the centuries. I hope the day will
    come when Baku will be selected the capital of European culture,
    and it will contribute to the development of Azerbaijan's ties with
    Christian and Muslim worlds."

    'A specific opportunity'

    "It is vitally important not to allow a return to military ways of
    solving contentious issues," the leaders said in a statement released
    after their meeting. "With our peace efforts, we will be sustaining
    people's hopes for the elimination of existing divisions, barriers,
    and animosity, for war, if it is continued, will have no end." Garegin
    II also invited Pashazade to visit Armenia.

    Patriarch Kirill told journalists the declaration reflected the role
    religious leaders can play in resolving protracted conflicts.

    "Religious leaders don't have political power. They cannot move
    troops. They cannot use state force," he said. "But they have a
    specific opportunity to appeal to those values and to those ideals
    which are very important for believers."

    Earlier, in his remarks to the meeting, Garegin II called on religious
    authorities to help solve world conflicts, directly addressing the
    territorial dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh.

    "The problems should be solved in accordance with international law
    and the rights of the nations," Garegin II said. "As the Armenian
    patriarch, I find it very important to continue our efforts with
    the head of the Muslim of the Caucasus, Sheikh ul-Islam Allahshukur
    Pashazade, to continue our work and try to find a solution for the
    problem. This is our duty."

    Turkish-Armenian protocols

    The Nagorno-Karabakh region and much of the adjoining territory has
    been occupied by the Armenian forces since a war with Azerbaijan that
    ended in 1994.

    Turkey has called on Armenia to resolve the ongoing dispute in
    order for Ankara to move forward with a historic accord establishing
    diplomatic relations and opening the shared border between Turkey
    and Armenia.

    Armenian President Serge Sarkisian suspended Armenia's ratification
    process last Thursday, citing different problems and highlighting
    "the Nagorno-Karabakh problem." Armenia contends that Nagorno-Karabakh
    was not a precondition to its agreement with Turkey.

    Pashazade also addressed Nagorno-Karabakh in his opening remarks. "We
    are making efforts to solve the conflict with Armenia," Pashazade
    said. "We held a series of meetings with the Armenian Catholicos. I
    consider it an important factor that the Armenian Catholicos accepted
    the invitation and joined the summit."

    He said he expected the meeting to "contribute to this work."

    But Garegin II's visit prompted a small protest by a radical group
    called the Karabakh Liberation Organization. Roughly a dozen members
    of the group, some of whom said they were parents of the victims of
    the war, held a demonstration in Baku that was later dispersed.

    Spiritual leaders from over 30 countries were expected to discuss
    globalization, conflict resolution, ecumenism, and the role of religion
    in public life at the Baku meeting, which was finishing Tuesday.
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