News
In a 23 July statement, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia urged a peace resolution to the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, calling on both sides to enter into dialogue.
“The religious communities of Armenia and Azerbaijan have experience of building up such dialogue, which is much needed now,” the statement reads. “My appeal is to stand up against those forces that benefit from the increasing tension in the Caucasus.”
Patriarch Kirill notes that a new war in the Caucasus will inevitably attract different kinds of terrorists and extremists who will deprive the region of peace and tranquility for a long time.
“The Russian Orthodox Church is ardently praying for the soonest cessation of the conflict,” the statement reads. “We hope that the peoples of Armenia and Azerbaijan, fraternal to us, will find strength and wisdom to put an end to the enmity, to de-escalate the distrust and to achieve mutually acceptable solutions to the divisive problems.”
