Catholicos of All Armenians His Holiness Karekin II strongly criticized Azerbaijan’s hostility and its leadership’s unwillingness to work toward peace in the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabagh) conflict. He was speaking at a meeting of the religious heads of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia at St. Daniel’s Patriarchal Monastery of Moscow.

During the Sept. 8 trilateral meeting, His Holiness Karekin II conveyed his remarks to Sheikh ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazade, chairman of the Caucasus Muslims Office, and His Holiness Kirill I, the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.

“Militaristic appeals and statements on increasing armament do not stop beyond the border,” said Catholicos Karekin II. “All of this greatly endangers the efforts to build an atmosphere of mutual trust and understanding, and shatters the already fragile ceasefire, transforming a new reality of conflict expansion, which we witnessed in April 2016 when large-scale military operations were unleashed by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. Everyone knows the chronology of those days, which was also documented by the international community, soldiers killed in battle, as well as the tortures committed against peaceful civilians; atrocities and violence caused losses and destruction,” he added.

The Catholicos went on to say that despite the statements made during the meetings of the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents, and the calls and messages of the spiritual leaders, the ceasefire continues to be strained on the line of contact (LoC), and soldiers—and sometimes even civilians—are being killed as a result. “We find it particularly worrying the cases of shielding behind the civilian population and turning them into an intentional target,” the Catholicos stressed.

Karekin II added that there can be “no alternative” to peace in the region, and that the settlement of the Artsakh conflict must be conducted exclusively through negotiations. “There is also no alternative to the free and independent life of our faithful people in Artsakh,” he said.

Below is a full transcript of Catholicos Karekin II’s remarks at the trilateral meeting, made public by the press service of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.