Armenian Church leader Catholicos Garegin II has shared with Azerbaijani TV channel ANS his impressions of his visit to Baku.
The Catholicos was in the Azerbaijani capital to attend the summit of world religious leaders on 26-27 April. He was received by President Ilham Aliyev and visited the Armenian church in central Baku, accompanied by Russian Patriarch Kirill and the head of the Caucasus Muslims Department, Sheikh ul-Islam Haji Allashukur Pashazade.
'We visited the Armenian church. We have been unable to hold services in this church for a short time in 70 years,' the Catholicos told ANS. 'We were upset to see that fire has badly damaged the frescoes. We also saw that there were no graves for our church servants. The church has been turned into a library. This is the way it has been preserved. We hope and pray that the time will come when the church will function fully. Our faithful will be able to pray and make pilgrimages there.''
Asked how religious leaders could influence resolution of the Karabakh conflict, Garegin ll said: 'I have come here with my brother, Patriarch Kirill, and the greatly respected Allahshukur Pashazade on an important mission. By this joint visit we want to call our peoples to peace. There is no other solution to the Karabakh conflict.
'We choose peace, because we should not forget that war is a crime against humankind and great cruelty before God. We, as religious people, must adhere to the rules established by God. May he help us in the Karabakh conflict.'
Asked whether Armenians and Azerbaijanis could live side by side after resolution of the conflict, Garegin said: 'May God grant everyone the happiness of living independently and freely. We are sure that there are no people who would not enjoy this right. This means that peaceful relations must be built with neighbouring countries. I am sure that an independent and free life of Nagorno-Karabakh will further strengthen friendly relations between our countries. We must listen to the voice of the people and we cannot make anyone do what they do not want to do.'
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