Time for an Armenia-Azerbaijan History Ceasefire

Source:Carnegie Date:28Feb2024

Or why peace is almost impossible in conflicts with starkly opposing narratives of the past.  Cyprus is another example of history interfering with the future

By recycling conspiracy theories and distorted versions of the past, the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders only prolong their unresolved conflict over the territory of Nagorny Karabakh.

Armenians  remember with immense pain:

In most Azerbaijani cities, the protests were contained, but in the town of Sumgait, a crowd of young men began attacking the Armenian quarter. Twenty-six Armenians were killed, others were raped or suffered horrific injuries. The whole of the Soviet Union was shocked.

While Azeris:

Four years later, on the night of February 26, 1992, the worst atrocity of the Karabakh conflict was committed by Armenian forces who killed whole columns of Azerbaijani civilians fleeing the besieged town of Khojaly. Azerbaijan now officially puts the death toll at 613.

The horrific episode has been well documented in reports by Human Rights Watch and Memorial. It has been confirmed by Armenian sources in the memoirs of Markar Melkonian, brother of famous Armenian volunteer commander Monte Melkonian, and indeed in my own interview with former Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan.