Spiritual leaders of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan adopted a joint  statement on the Karabakh conflict

ArmInfo. Following the meeting of the spiritual leaders of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan, Garegin II, Kirill and Allahshukur Pashazadeh in the Danilov  Monastery in Moscow, which was held at the initiative of the Primate  of the Russian Orthodox Church to discuss ways to resolve the  Karabakh conflict, a joint statement was adopted.

I particular, the document reads: "Today we, the spiritual leaders of  the Azerbaijani and Armenian peoples, met again in Moscow at the  invitation of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia  to discuss the ways of peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh  conflict, without which it is impossible to reach agreement and  security on The Caucasus. We attach special importance to the  consistent development of the peacekeeping dialogue, the continuation  of the negotiations and the mediation efforts of the international  community that will help achieve a comprehensive settlement of the  conflict. Are we convinced that it is possible to overcome  disagreements based on the principles of good neighborliness and  moral values preached by traditional religions? the value of good,  love of neighbor, mutual forgiveness and mercy. The Armenian and  Azerbaijani peoples will always live side by side, so there is no  other perspective, except peace and cooperation. In the face of  numerous challenges, we, the spiritual leaders of our peoples, are  obliged to seek joint answers. We pray for the preservation of peace  and the speedy resolution of all humanitarian problems related to the  conflict, and we call on the political and public figures of our  peoples to do this. Together we are called upon to take care of the  suffering and destitute, to testify to the eternal spiritual and  moral values, to seek peaceful and just ways to resolve  contradictions. It is extremely important to abandon the militant and  hostile rhetoric. We appeal to those on whom this depends, with an  appeal to facilitate the release of all civilians who did not  participate in hostilities and were taken prisoner. We, as religious  leaders, are called upon to protect churches, mosques and other  shrines. Therefore, it is very important to ensure the inviolability  of religious monuments and respect for them. We call upon our peoples  to educate young people in the spirit of goodwill and mutual respect,  peace and traditional morality. For our part, we express our  readiness to support peacekeeping initiatives to resolve the  Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The history of the tripartite meetings of  spiritual leaders testifies to the positive impact of such contacts  on the course of the settlement of the conflict, which should never  develop into a religious confrontation. We cherish the ardent hope  for the success of the negotiation process. We are ready to use all  available opportunities for the sake of peace in the region."

At the end of the meeting, Patriarch Kirill told journalists that he  would appreciate the atmosphere that prevailed during the talks and  the results of the work. "In a kind, open atmosphere, honestly the  sides exchanged their positions, avoiding even any hint of hostile  rhetoric. This shows that the religious leaders with full  responsibility before God for the fate of their people, their  country, discussed the problem, which is really very difficult," he  said.

The peacekeeping efforts of the Moscow Patriarchate on the  Nagorno-Karabakh problem were initiated in 1988. The first tripartite  peacekeeping meeting of the heads of the three religious communities  was held in May 1993 in the Moscow Danilov Monastery. Previous  tripartite meetings of religious leaders of Russia and Transcaucasia  took place within the framework of interreligious forums in 2010 in  Baku and 2011 in Yerevan.