Academics from a number of European Universities and think tanks, diplomats and practitioners, as well as activists representing stakeholders in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement are gathering in Oxford for a one day conference on the theme "The impact of international and regional developments on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement process". The Conference is organised by the group LINKS (Dialogue, Analysis and Research) and the Russia and Eurasia Studies Centre, at St. Antony's College, University of Oxford and will take place on Tuesday, 11 November.
In a period of increased global tensions, and at a time when Europe faces some of the biggest challenges to peace and security since the end of the cold war, efforts to peacefully resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict have become increasingly entangled with wider regional and international issues. In the meantime, as events in the last few weeks have shown, the conflict continues to claim the lives of many Armenians and Azerbaijanis in incidents on the line of contact, reminding us that it remains a serious threat to peace and prosperity in the Caucasus and wider Europe. It also negatively affects hundreds of thousands of people on both sides of the conflict divide.
The conference will analyse the current situation, and discuss what more can be done - and what can be done differently - in order to move the peace process forward.
LINKS Executive Director, Dennis Sammut, told commonspace.eu that the conference will provide a space to analyse what has worked and what has not in the Karabakh conflict settlement process, and how the new realities that Europe is experiencing will impact the future. "The conference is designed to look towards the future, but inevitably we need to reflect and learn lessons from the past. In this regard the fact that the conference is being held on 11 November, the day when we in Britain remember the fallen from the two world wars and other conflicts, holds a lot of symbolism even for the conference participants. In talking about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict we must never lose sight of the fact that the conflict has claimed the lives of many people - especially many young people, and continues to do so. We owe it to their memories to work to resolve this conflict and rid the region of its most difficult problem", said Dennis Sammut
Commonspace.eu will have full coverage of the conference proceedings.
