Swiss Federal Council proposes organizing international peace forum  on Karabakh conflict

ArmInfo. The Swiss Federal Council has adopted a resolution calling the country's authorities to organize an international peace forum on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.  The resolution, published on the page of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Swiss Federal Council (lower house of parliament), sets the task of organizing the forum as soon as possible (no later than one year).

"The aim is to facilitate an open dialogue between Azerbaijan and  representatives of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh, conducted under  international supervision or in the presence of internationally  relevant actors, in order to negotiate the safe and collective return  of the historically resident Armenian population," the committee's  website says. The document notes that Nagorno-Karabakh has been  emptied of its Armenian population, since Azerbaijan's last military  advance in September 2023, 

"Fearing another genocide like that perpetrated against the Armenians  in 1915, the historical population was forced to leave their homeland  within a few days. The region has since experienced documented ethnic  cleansing: Armenian cultural heritage such as churches, monasteries  and cemeteries is systematically destroyed or reinterpreted with fake  historical documents under the guise of "renovation". Despite these  serious developments, the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh maintain  their desire to return to their homeland under security guarantees  from the international community, to determine their own political  future and to exercise democratic self-government," the text says.

The decisions taken by the International Court on the situation  around Artsakh are recalled. "The OSCE Minsk Group, which was been  responsible for mediation to date, is severely limited in its ability  to act due to geopolitical tensions. This underlines the need for a  new negotiation format to resolve the conflict peacefully and protect  the rights of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh.   Switzerland has successfully acted as a neutral mediator in  international conflicts on several occasions in the past. Most  recently, the Federal Council held a peace conference on Ukraine on  Burgenstock in June 2024. Switzerland has also already provided  valuable services with regard to Armenia: in October 2009, the 

"Zurich Protocols" were signed between Armenia and Turkey under Swiss  mediation, which aimed to normalize bilateral relations. Federal  Council member Micheline Calmy-Rey was even awarded  Armenia's Medal  of Honor for her commitment," the text says.  It is also noted that  an International Peace Forum organized by Switzerland could make a  decisive contribution to resolving the conflict, enabling the return  of displaced persons and thus contributing to the stabilization of  the entire region. "Switzerland has a unique opportunity to use its  proven role as a neutral mediator to initiate a constructive dialogue  between the conflicting parties. Such an engagement will not only  continue Switzerland's humanitarian tradition, but would also  strengthen its position as a reliable partner in international  diplomacy," says the resolution adopted by the lower house of the  Swiss legislature.  After its adoption by the Federation Council, the  resolution will also be discussed in the upper house of the Swiss  parliament.