Pope meets Armenian president, urges dialogue with Azerbaijan

Published: 2005-01-28

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Meeting Armenia's president, Pope John Paul II urged the nation to continue "patient dialogue" with Azerbaijan to resolve the ongoing conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. President Robert Kocharian met the pope Jan. 28 at the Vatican. The pope praised Armenia as a country where a Catholic minority is respected and allowed to contribute to the life of the nation. The esteem and friendship shared by Armenian Catholics and members of the majority Armenian Apostolic Church, an Orthodox church, "certainly will have positive repercussions for the peaceful coexistence of the Armenian people, called to face not a few social and economic challenges." The pope also expressed his hope for "a true and stable peace in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, where you, Mr. President, come from." Peace, the pope said, will only come "from a decisive refusal to use violence and from a patient dialogue among the parties, thanks as well to active international mediation." Nagorno-Karabakh is a predominantly Armenian enclave surrounded by Azerbaijan.

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