The fighting that has now broken out between Azerbaijan and Armenia is really horrific and we need to lobby whoever we can to encourage a ceasefire, but hearing reports that President Erdogan has now lined up 80,000 Turkish troops on the Armenian border is a terrifying prospect, full of the dark echoes of history. Peter Gabriel

It was the magic of the duduk, possibly the most soulful instrument in the world, that introduced me to Armenia.
When the duduk maestro Djivan Gasparyan had his 70th birthday an Armenian astronomer friend, Garik Israelian, invited me to see his country and join the celebrations.

I really loved the experience, the warmth and generosity of the people, the music and the culture, the food and everywhere an outward-looking innovative positivity.

While I was there I was taken to the Tsitsernakaberd memorial created to remember the 1.5 million Armenians killed between 1914-1917 by the Turkish Government while the Ottoman Empire was collapsing.

The fighting that has now broken out between Azerbaijan and Armenia is really horrific and we need to lobby whoever we can to encourage a ceasefire, but hearing reports that President Erdogan has now lined up 80,000 Turkish troops on the Armenian border is a terrifying prospect, full of the dark echoes of history.

Please encourage your politicians, Brussels, NATO and the UN to get involved before a lot more lives are lost.

Thanks,

Peter Gabriel