Pope Francis calls for settling Karabakh issue

The world, unfortunately, is experiencing the tragedy of many conflicts fuelled by intolerance, which in turn is fomented by violent ideologies and by the effective denial of the rights of the weakest, Pope Francis said at the Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku.

"Mindful also of this country, I wish to express my heartfelt closeness to those who have had to leave their land and to the many people who suffer the effects of bloody conflicts. I hope that the international community may be able to offer unfailingly its indispensable help," Pope Francis said.

"At the same time, in order to initiate a new phase for stable peace in the region, I invite everyone to grasp every opportunity to reach a satisfactory solution. I am confident that, with the help of God, and the good will of those involved, the Caucasus will be a place where, through dialogue and negotiation, disputes and differences will be resolved and overcome," he noted.

By such means, this area – “a gateway between East and West”, in the beautiful image used by Saint John Paul II when he visited your country – will also become a gateway open to peace, and an example to which we can look to solve old and new conflicts, the Pope stressed.

"In order to effectively oppose these dangerous deviations, we need to promote a culture of peace, which is fostered by an untiring willingness for dialogue and by the awareness that there is no reasonable alternative to patiently and assiduously searching for shared solutions by means of committed and sustained negotiations," he said.

"The attachment to authentic religious values is utterly incompatible with the attempt to violently impose on others one’s own vision, using God’s holy name as “armour”. Rather, may faith in God be a source and inspiration of mutual understanding and respect, and of reciprocal help, in pursuit of the common good of society," the Pope said.

"In this way, peoples will be spared grave suffering and painful wounds, which are difficult to heal," Trend cited him as saying.