Foreign media
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in spotlight of leading EU portal
Euractive.it , the Italian language section of Euractiv, a leading EU media network, has published an article entitled “Nagorno-Karabakh conflict: It has nothing to do with history and religion” by Daniel Pommier Vincelli, associate professor of La Sapienza University of Rome.
The author explains that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict does not have a religious nature and has nothing to do with religion, contrary to what is deliberately and purposefully claimed by Armenia.
The article also draws attention to the fact that ethnic, national and religious coexistence prevailed in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan until the end of the 20th century. As an example to understand the complex history of the region, D. Pommier argues that in the 18th century, Christians and Muslims living in the area were able to enter into an alliance among themselves to wage war on others, therefore, the conflict was not caused by ethnic or religious, but by material issues. He notes that the Nagorno-Karabakh region belonging to the Karabakh Khanate was included in the tsarist empire as a result of the Kurakchay Treaty signed in 1805 by Sisiyanov, the Azerbaijani Khan and the head of the Russian troops, and there was no reference to the Armenian minority in this treaty. Also, the region was not separated from Armenia by Stalin in the 20s of the 20th century. In 1919, Great Britain, the only Western power in the area, temporarily recognized Azerbaijan's sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabakh and was waiting for a final decision from the Paris Peace Conference. This ended with the Soviets confirming the status quo.
According to the author, claims that the conflict also has a religious nature and is a "Christian resistance" to Turkey's "aggression" and even jihadism are unfounded. He states that Azerbaijan is a secular state where religion and state are separate, where Muslims, Christians and Jews live peacefully together. In addition, Azerbaijan is a Shia-dominated country like its neighbor Iran, and Iran has close ties with Christian Armenia. For these reasons, D. Pommier believes that it is wrong to imagine the conflict as having a religious character and to associate its causes with historical legitimacy. The author stresses that the conflict resolution should be based on international law.
The associate professor also says that the claim of "clash of civilizations" referred to by the Prime Minister of Armenia is an attractive theory of the 90s of the last century but the time of this theory has long passed. He also emphasizes that the image of an Armenian priest who is ready to protect Christianity from the non-existent threat of Islam in Nagorno-Karabakh is very disappointing, as it reminds of the priests of the Italian Social Republic who held a cross in one hand and give a Roman salute with the other hand.
In conclusion, the author underscores the need to forget history and religion and achieve a concrete solution to the conflict.