SITTING at the far south-eastern corner of Europe at the opposite end of our continent from Scotland are the Caucasus mountains.

Containing Europe’s highest peaks, the area has been at the crossroads of empires for centuries and today borders Iran to south, Russia to the north and Turkey to the west.

The area is home to a vast array of ethnic groups speaking dozens of languages. The Caucasus are known as the mountains of languages and is a complex but fascinating part of the world. In recent days, the region has come back into the spotlight as tensions have flared up in Nagorno-Karabakh (also known to some Armenians as Artsakh) with the loss of dozens of lives and civilians forced to flee in terror.

During the Soviet period, it was an autonomous region within Azerbaijan, but with a majority ethnic Armenian population. Muslim Azerbaijanis and Christian Armenians lived side by side for centuries. Armenians and Azerbaijanis have been described as “twins” and commentators describe tensions between the groups as recent.

That did not make the conflict when it did arise any less bloody. As the Soviet Union collapsed, a devastating war between broke out. It led to 30,000 people losing their lives and a million people fled their homes as Armenians fled Azerbaijan and Azerbaijanis fled Karabakh and areas affected by conflict.

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The Armenian forces pushed backed the Azerbaijanis from Nagorno-Karabakh and seized other parts of Azerbaijan around the territory. An uneasy truce has been in place since. There are occasional flare-ups but those in recent days have been the worst for years.

There are fears the conflict could get worse. Turkey backs its ally Azerbaijan and has provided it with military and other support. President Erdogan has described the relationship as “one nation with two states”.

Armenia has a difficult relationship with Turkey and accuses the country of taking part in genocide against its people due to its actions at the end of the First World War, which form an important part of Armenia’s collective memory.

France has historically backed Armenia which has a far-flung and powerful diaspora lobby in places such as Paris and Washington DC. Russia has armed both sides, sees the Caucasus as part of its sphere of influence, and has a military base in Armenia.

In recent days, there have been reports of militia from Syria, and even Libya, making their way to the area. With so much at stake, it is difficult to see how to build towards a peaceful outcome. Tom de Waal, whose book the Black Garden is well worth a read on the background, said any just solution “will entail painful compromises”.

The conflict may seem like a long way away and of very little relevance to us here in Scotland. Yet we have played a role in the past. In 2004,

I worked with several international NGOs to bring the South Caucasus Peace Initiative to Scotland.

Parliamentarians from Armenia, Azerbaijan and neighbouring Georgia came here for peace talks, bringing together, for the first time, the powerful speakers of the Armenian and Azerbaijani parliaments. We were ably hosted by the then SNP foreign affairs spokesperson Angus Robertson in Edinburgh and Moray. Scotland provided a safe space for politicians from these countries to talk to each other in a neutral environment in a candid and open way.

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The Caucasus sit on exactly the other side of Europe but there are good links with people there across the divide. I spent several years working in peacebuilding in the region. I travelled to Nagorno-Karabakh from Yerevan, Armenia’s capital, across the mountains in one of the most beautiful and remote journeys I have taken.

I WENT with those who had been involved in the conflict and the devastation from the war was still apparent. The Caucasians take their hospitality very seriously and visitors to Scotland often reflect on the similarities.

The family of Tsarist officer Mikhail Lermontov, known as the “poet of the Caucasus”, originally came from Fife. He saw the links between these mountains and his ancestral home. In his poem A Wish he imagines flying from the Caucasus to Scotland “where the fields of my ancestors flower”. The author Neal Ascherson describes it as Lermontov’s “vision of a Caucasian Scotland”.

In Armenia, they look to learn the lessons from the whisky industry with their world-renowned cognac. Former Scottish Parliament presiding officer George Reid is well regarded in the country and received the Pirogov gold medal for his humanitarian work in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake in Armenia in 1988. Azerbaijan has Scottish links, too, not least in the oil and gas industry. When I worked in Baku, I would regularly bump into fellow Scots working in the booming sector.

The city had several Scottish pubs, rather than the Irish pubs to be found elsewhere, and the local currency exchanges even advertised “Scottish pounds” with a Saltire next to them on the chalkboards that sat outside. Flights to and from Baku would be busy with workers heading back to the north-east.

International NGOs regularly bring groups to Scotland and just before lockdown I met up with a group from Armenia here. The links and commonality are apparent and Scotland has a well-known brand across the region.

The latest outbreak of hostilities comes at a dangerous time and the real victims of this conflict will be the wonderful people of the South Caucasus. Scotland may not be a big power but as similar-sized neighbours such as Norway and Finland have illustrated, we could have an outsized role to play by providing a safe and neutral space.

If there are to be talks, let’s offer to host them and do what we can for the peace process and show a bit of European solidarity to our friends and neighbours in the Caucasus. It may be a small role but finding a safe space for talks can often be crucial in the long path to peace.

Stephen Gethins is a Professor of Practice at the School of International Relations, University of St Andrews. He has worked across the South Caucasus including in Nagorno-Karabakh