The conflict in Nagorny Karabakh has undergone several attempts at resolution. Citizens of Armenia and Azerbaijan have repeatedly tried to establish communication through unofficial channels – through ‘Track 2 Diplomacy’. But the question arises: how effective are civilian peacebuilding projects and initiatives, and what should we expect from so-called ‘people’s diplomacy’ nowadays?

The 2020 war, with its many casualties and subsequent tragic events, including the mass forced exodus of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh, posed challenges for peacebuilding initiatives. After a war that changed the region and exacerbated old and new problems, it became very difficult to build bridges of communication between people on both sides.

One such peacebuilding initiative was the Crossroads group, established after the 44-day war, which brought together more than two thousand people, mostly Armenians and Azerbaijanis. During a discussion on CivilNet channel, organised in cooperation with the Yerevan and Baku Press Clubs, the moderator of the ‘Crossroads’ group Yusif Umbatov and Armenian political scientist Edgar Vardanyan discussed the possibilities of ‘people’s diplomacy’.