Discussion in Stepanavan: Interactions of Societies are Important in Karabakh Conflict Sttlement

• 12.15.2015, 15:07
•  Armenia

The last training-meeting of the "The Voice of Youth 4. New Season" project took place in the city of Stepanavan on December 14 with the participation of active youth interested in the RA foreign policy and international relations and they were joined with the most active participants from Yerevan. The process of Karabakh conflict settlement – negotiations and civil society initiatives – this was the main topic, which became a subject of hot discussions raising the interest of the youth on the topic.

Before passing to the discussion-debate, two experts of the field made reports on both the negotiation process and the civil society initiatives. Referring to the role of Track-2 diplomacy in conflict settlement, the expert mentioned that Track-2 is important as it is unofficial contact of conflicting societies to come up with steps directed towards changing perceptions in the political arena and break stereotypes, creating an atmosphere that peace is possible. According to the expert, Track-2 diplomacy is a tool of creating dialogue and building bridges of trust between conflicting sides, which, however, does not replace Track-1, but complements it. Referring to the importance of Track-2, the expert added that it especially becomes valuable, when the negotiations are in a deadlock and there is a need of informal platform to discuss new ideas.  

Both during the discussion and in their individual works, the participants of the training shared their views on the importance of Track-2 in conflict resolution process and came up with suggestions, what role civil society can have in the context of Karabakh conflict. Almost all participants mentioned the importance of civil society initiatives in conflict resolution process. According to Erik Israelyan this can be done by organizing discussion with the participation of Armenian and Azerbaijani active youth on a neutral topic, which will give the youth an opportunity to work together and not against each other. Misak Mkhoyan in his turn suggested organizing lectures, discussions for Armenians and Azerbaijanis, which will contribute to the transformation of negative opinions towards each other and will bring to the perception that war cannot lead to anything good. An important issue is the suspension of anti-Armenian and anti-Azerbaijani propaganda in social media: this will change a general mood. This opinion was expressed by Ruben Ayvazyan.

It should be noted that "The Voice of Youth 4. New Season" project is being implemented by NGO "European Integration" with the support of the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs of the RA.