Three religious leaders on Monday signed a declaration on the peaceful settlement of the Nagorny Karabakh conflict and asked the parties to the conflict - Armenia and Azerbaijan - to remove snipers from the front.
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, Catholicos of all Armenians Karekin II and Caucasus Muslim leader Allahshukur Pashazade expressed “adherence to the peaceful resolution of the Karabakh problem” and “support for the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group.”
Nagorny Karabakh, a breakaway region on Azerbaijani territory with a predominantly ethnic Armenian population, has been at the center of a bitter conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Nagorny Karabakh has remained under Armenian control since the late 1980s, when the region claimed independence from Azerbaijan. The conflict is estimated to have left more than 30,000 people dead on both sides between 1988 and 1994.
Last week, two Nagorny Karabakh soldiers were killed by Azerbaijani snipers. Over the next few days, Karabakh servicemen killed about seven Azerbaijani soldiers.
The OSCE Minsk Group, comprising Russia, France and the United States, has mediated the conflict for many years without much progress.
Patriarch Kirill, Karekin II and Pashazade are attending a meeting of the CIS Interfaith Council in Yerevan on November 28-29.
