HomeChairman of the Caucasus Muslims Office Sheikhulislam Allahshukur Pashazade addressed a letter to Pope Francis.
According to the report given to APA by the department, the letter says:
"I sincerely greet you and I am honored to express my satisfaction with the high level of relations between the Holy See and the Republic of Azerbaijan. Your meetings with the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and the First Vice-President of our country Mehriban Aliyeva in Baku and the Vatican are a sign of deep cooperation between the Holy See and Azerbaijan in all fields. has a solid foundation. This year, when the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Holy See was celebrated, was significant for our relations. At the beginning of the year, my visit to the Vatican at your high invitation, and our meeting with Your Holiness, were unforgettable and fruitful. Your Apostle to Azerbaijan 2016 after your visit, my visit to the Vatican, during the year our meetings in the atmosphere of human brotherhood in Kazakhstan, Bahrain, no doubt,Further strengthening of the existing high-level relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the Administration of Caucasian Muslims is a valuable contribution to the process of Muslim-Christian dialogue in general.
His Holiness!
The special importance you give to inter-religious dialogue and your efforts to eliminate conflicts for the sake of world peace are highly commendable.
As a religious leader, the fact that you always show a profound attitude to the events happening in the most different parts of the world is your outstanding feature and resonates deeply in the hearts of those who believe in our One Creator.
Millions of people watch your Sunday sermons as the head of the Vatican State and the leader of the world's Catholics.
Meanwhile, in your last sermon, I consider it my moral duty to inform you about the point you touched on what is happening in the Caucasus region.
His Holiness!
I share your concern about the situation in the South Caucasus.
Indeed, the worrying point is that threats to sustainable peace and security in the region remain.
As you know, in the 44-day Patriotic War, the people of Azerbaijan liberated their ancestral lands recognized by the world community and occupied by neighboring Armenia for nearly 30 years.
According to the tripartite agreement reached, Russian peacekeepers were stationed in the part of Karabakh inhabited by Armenians for a period of 5 years.
We understand that the point of concern for Your Holiness is in the appeal addressed to Your Excellency and other religious center and church leaders by Catholicos-Patriarch of Armenians Garegii II regarding the supposed closure of the humanitarian Lachin-Khankendi road connecting the Armenian minority in Karabakh with Armenia.
I would like to bring to your attention that the mentioned road has never been closed by Azerbaijan.
It is the Russian peacekeepers who did this, and the Azerbaijani authorities have repeatedly officially declared that Azerbaijan has not imposed any restrictions on the movement of cars on the Lachin road, the traffic regime along the road continues as before, and the organization of the movement of citizens, goods and vehicles is the responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping forces.
However, with the aim of defaming Azerbaijan in the eyes of the world community and presenting it in a non-humanistic manner, the Armenian side spreads insidious misinformation, conducts biased propaganda against our country and makes false claims.
We are very sorry that the Armenian Apostolic Church is particularly active in this matter under the influence of Armenian politicians.
His Holiness!
The truth is that, according to the conducted investigations, illegal exploitation activities are carried out in the "Kyzilbulag" gold field and the "Demirli" copper-molybdenum field in the region of Karabakh where the peacekeepers are responsible.
Despite the prior agreement reached through the peacekeepers on the monitoring of this activity by independent activists, the separatist regime did not let the ecoactivists into those facilities.
The action of the civil society representatives, which lasted for more than a week, with slogans against the looting of natural resources and serious damage to the environment, is peaceful and does not create an obstacle to the Lachin-Khankendi road.
At present, the protestors demand an on-the-spot inspection of the indicated deposits, the cessation of illegal exploitation,
they demand monitoring and inventorying in various directions, assessment of potential risks to the environment and elimination of the consequences of the damage.
The claims of the Armenian side, especially Echmiadzi, that the peaceful protest action of ecoactivists caused a humanitarian crisis are completely untrue, as the humanitarian corridor is active.
In the videos taken from the place of the protest action, it can be seen that humanitarian trucks and ambulances can move freely and all conditions are provided by the protestors for this.
In case of humanitarian problems of Azerbaijani citizens of Armenian origin living in the Karabakh region, a hotline has been established for the prompt resolution of their appeals.
The real problem is that
this humanitarian corridor is misused and weapons and ammunition, military goods and mines are transported to the Armenian separatists in Karabakh.
It is no coincidence that after the signing of the tripartite declaration on peace, about three hundred Azerbaijani civilians were harmed by the newly buried mines - they were either killed or disabled for life.
Recently, 350 2021 Armenian-made mines were discovered in our lands.
The latest mine victims were 8 Azerbaijanis in Kalbajar region on December 14.
Recently, 350 2021 Armenian-made mines were discovered in our lands.
The latest mine victims were 8 Azerbaijanis in Kalbajar region on December 14.
Recently, 350 2021 Armenian-made mines were discovered in our lands.
The latest mine victims were 8 Azerbaijanis in Kalbajar region on December 14.
His Holiness!
You have visited Azerbaijan, got acquainted with the multicultural values and traditions of our multi-ethnic, multi-confessional country, that our citizens of different ethnic and religious affiliations live as a friendly family, freely fulfill their religious and spiritual needs, and that all religious denominations benefit equally from the attention and care of the state. you had the opportunity to personally observe.
You are a living witness of the respectful attitude, attention and patronage of the Azerbaijani state to traditional religious values in our country and abroad.
Like more than 30 thousand Armenians living in our multicultural country, the same number of Armenians living in Karabakh are our citizens, and from the rights and freedoms that every citizen of Azerbaijan has,
they have the right to use privileges and the wealth of our country.
However, they have become hostages of the illegal regime.
The rhetoric of some political figures of Armenia, the pressures of the diaspora, as well as the statements of the Armenian church fueling the spirit of revanchism threaten the fragile peace.
Such statements do not serve the dialogue of the Azerbaijani authorities with the local ethnic Armenians.
However, Azerbaijan is the most interested party in such a dialogue for the completion of the reintegration process.
We wish for peace, we are engaged in peace-building work, we are working hard to revive Karabakh, which was destroyed during the occupation, to rebuild its infrastructure, and to restore vandalized mosques and churches.
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The entire region will benefit from large-scale projects that serve the general security and economic well-being of Azerbaijanis and Armenians living in Karabakh.
It is our hope to establish lasting peace and tranquility.
Having introduced these truths to your saints, who always approach all issues with the criterion of justice, we ask you to help us in our righteous work, as our Almighty Creator has commanded.
Do not spare your efforts and prayers for lasting peace in our region with your supreme authority!
His Holiness!
Taking this opportunity, on behalf of the Muslims of Azerbaijan and personally, I sincerely congratulate you - the leader of world Catholics - on the occasion of your great holiday - the birth of Jesus Christ - Christmas, and wish you and all your followers blessings from the Almighty, long life, good health and I appreciate your valuable work.
May our One Creator protect the Earth and mankind from harm, grant peace and prosperity to our world!
Amen!".