The Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum (EaP CSF) Azerbaijani National Platform (Azerbaijani NP) welcomes the efforts of Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders in establishing sustainable peace in the South Caucasus and ending the long-lasting conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The EaP CSF Azerbaijani NP calls the leaders to use this historical moment to sign the peace deal by the end of 2022 and gift the people of Armenia and Azerbaijan with this New Year present.

The EaP CSF Azerbaijani NP also would like to express its extreme gratitude to the EU leaders, especially the President of the European Council, Charles Michel and his team, for their continuous efforts to bring Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders together to build lasting peace. We have witnessed great results in the peace process under the EU auspicious since December 2021 and encourage the EU leaders to continue their efforts; what the EU-led peacebuilding platform achieved in the last 11 months could not be achieved by other mediating platforms (dominated mainly by Russia) in decades; Hence EU’s role is highly vital for the peacebuilding and vibrant cooperation environment in the South Caucasus.

The EaP CSF Azerbaijani NP would like also to stress its dissatisfaction with the recent statement of the EaP CSF Armenian NP and the points stated there. In sensitive times like this, any statement or action of spreading false information harms the peace process. Azerbaijani NP would be grateful if Armenian NP checked their facts from international sources and checked their Azerbaijani peers’ opinions on the case to present an accurate and balanced stand.In the past, we have witnessed that on the eve of significant meetings of Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders and high-ranking diplomats, many disinformation and one-sided&biased videos might emerge to harm theprocess. The spread of inaccurate information might harm the peace process led by the EU and help the other mediators who do not wish to see a sustainable solution to the process tocontinue taking advantage of prolonged conflict. Armenian and Azerbaijani CSO representatives would significantly contribute to the peace process if they followed the principle “do no harm first.”

For the last 30 years, during the Armenian control of Karabakh and surrounding regions, seven cities and countless Azerbaijani villages have been destroyed and wiped out. Azerbaijani soldiers, in the aftermath of the 44-day war, found many mass burial sites, especially in Edilli village, where Azerbaijani PoWs of the 1990s Karabakh war were chained, shot to the head and buried in mass graves. The EU diplomats and researchers visiting the area have been eyewitnesses of the urbicide in the cities ofAghdam, Fuzuli, Kalbajar, Zangilan, Jabrayil, Gubadli and Shusha. For the last 30 years, more than 850 thousand residents of these areas cannot return to their birthplaces, whose human rights have been violated by Armenia.EaP CSP Azerbaijani NP would like also to express its disappointment toward its Armenian peers for raising no voice duringthe bombings of civilian objects, killing hundreds of civilians, especially Ganja (3 times), Barda and Tartarby Armenian leaders in October-November 2022.

One of the main threats is the intentional planting of landmines in the territories of Azerbaijan by Armenia for the past 30 years. After the signed Trilateral Statement on November 10, 2020, there was an increase in the number of landmine victims not only along the former contact line but also in other territories. Since the end of the war of 2020, 266 persons have become landmine victims, with 45 killed, including three journalists. Out of the 45 killed, 35 persons are civilians. Over the past 30 years, 3345 persons became landmine victims, 38 women and 357 children have become landmine victims.

The EaP CSF Azerbaijani NP calls its European and Armenian partners to visit Azerbaijan and see the volume of the destruction. Due to various reasons, Azerbaijani civil society members have limited access to the EU platforms, whereas the Armenian diaspora and other representativesmake Armenian narratives quantitatively convincing on various platforms. There is a need to balance it, and more representation of Azerbaijani experts, peacebuilders and CSO reps is needed for a balanced approach to many critical issues. Webelieve that human rights are the cornerstone for resolving all violent conflicts, and equal representation of Karabakh Azerbaijani voices is needed alongside the Karabakh Armenians. In this context, the Azerbaijani NP would like to make a call to its peers at the Armenian NP and EaP CSF Secretariat to work together on assisting the establishment of sustainable peace in the South Caucasus. Let’s be the voice of peace; there are enough other pro-war voices.