Inter-religious dialogue in Azerbaijan might be model for other nations – Vatican’s Archbishop

Jean-Lui Toran, Secretary of the International Relations Department of Vatican’s State Secretariat, arrived in Baku after his tour of Armenia and Georgia on Tuesday for a two-day visit at the invitation of the Foreign Ministry.

The same day Toran paid tribute at the Cemetery of Martyrs.

Deputy Foreign Minister Xalaf Xalafov, who first received the visitor, stressed that Azerbaijan gave great importance to relations with Vatican. In particular, President Heydar Aliyev’s visit to Italy in 1997 and that of Pope of Rome John Paul II to Baku in 2002 gave impetus to the development of bilateral bonds. Xalafov noted that as a country ensuring tolerance and freedom of religious beliefs, Azerbaijan is a bridge between Islam and Christianity.

Attributing yet-unsettled existing conflicts as the key obstacle in regional cooperation, Xalafov said Azerbaijan looked forward to assistance from Vatican – which contributes to the establishment of peace and justice throughout the world - for resolution of the conflict over Upper Qarabag.

Noting the common standpoints of Vatican and Azerbaijan on most issues, Jean-Lui Toran said that violence is the worst way for resolving misunderstanding among people and expressed his support for peaceable resolution of all conflicts within the bounds of international law.

According to Toran, the inter-religious dialogue in Azerbaijan can be a model for other countries, as the Catholic community in the country testifies to the freedom of religious beliefs.

Thanking the Azerbaijani government for granting a venue for construction of the Catholic Church in Baku, Vatican’s official stated that prayers would be read for repatriation of Azerbaijani refugees during the Church’s Wednesday mass.

The Archbishop also met with Speaker Murtuz Alasgarov and Artur Rasizada, First Deputy Prime Minister.

On Wednesday Toran is scheduled to meet with Haji Allahsukur Pasazada, Sheik-ul-Islam of the Caucasus, and Rafiq Aliyev, chairman of the State Committee on Religious Bodies.