The 44 days war on Karabakh ended with the signature of the ceasefire agreement on 09. November 2020, but a peace accord is not in sight. Multilateralism failed in conflict prevention in the EU's neighborhood and many issues remain unresolved. We are convinced that a high level of attention and longterm engagement in regional recovery and building positive relations between states and societies in the South Caucasus region would be needed. For this a special and permanent focus is required for Karabakh, as it proved to be a critical flashpoint for conflicting interests and policies of regional powers and beyond with a geostrategic relevance.

This session addresses the challenges and opportunities for an active engagement of the multilateral structures of OSCE and EU to contribute to building and maintaining constructive relations between states and societies in the South Caucasus Region. It also asks what contribution the German government could make in order to support such engagement.