International Alert is deeply concerned about the latest military escalation between Armenians and Azerbaijanis over Nagorny Karabakh, the largest confrontation since 1994.

These clashes have already reportedly resulted in hundreds of civilians and soldiers being killed or wounded, prompting fears of a larger regional destabilisation.

As peacebuilders, we urgently call on all parties to use dialogue to immediately end the violence and return to peaceful negotiations. We also urge the international community to use all diplomatic means to support the de-escalation process.

We stand in solidarity with our partners and the local peacebuilding community working tirelessly to reduce tensions and build mutual understanding in a region where memories of peaceful coexistence are fading fast.

We remain fully committed to supporting these peacebuilding efforts by encouraging dialogue and the rebuilding of trust and collaboration across conflict divides to ensure people can live without fear of violence in the future.

As Alert’s long-standing partners across the conflict divide agree:

“No war is endless: sooner or later it will stop. But with every minute, it delays opportunities for dialogue and trust by many years. We cannot afford it.”

Background

The Nagorny Karabakh conflict erupted in the early 1990s, with a ceasefire signed in 1994. Despite the conflict being dubbed ‘frozen’, both civilians and soldiers are regularly killed along the Line of Contact and the international border.