On Monday, Lebanon’s Foreign Ministry released a statement in which it called on both Armenia and Azerbaijan to resolve their conflict diplomatically and with dialogue.
Lebanon said it regrets what is happening in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh and stands by the U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in calling both sides to stop fighting.
Lebanon urged dialogue between the countries as an effort to reach a rapid solution. In the statement, Lebanon also welcomed efforts of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe to manage the crisis.
In the past days, the frozen war had reignited between longtime enemies Armenia and Azerbaijan that have long disputed over the ethnic Armenian mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Despite the fact that it declared independence from Azerbaijan decades ago and that it is inhabited by a majority of Armenians, the region is still internationally considered part of Azerbaijan.
Armenia is landlocked between Azerbaijan and Turkey, which has already pledged its support for Azerbaijan and has a nasty history with Armenia. In addition, Iran is to the south.
On the other hand, Russia, which has military bases in Armenia, yet has good relations with both countries, called for a ceasefire.
If the conflict should escalate, it can spark a larger war with big players.
Lebanon’s concerns over this conflict unrelated to its affairs are nevertheless genuine. Lebanon is home to hundreds of thousands of Armenian descents, a large community that is an integral part of the Lebanese society and with political representations.
In response to the August 4 explosion, Armenia stepped up to lend its support to Lebanon in various ways, including dispatching aids to Beirut and providing university scholarships in support, among others.