AnewZ takes to the streets of Yerevan and Baku to ask a simple yet deeply complex question: How do you see peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan? In the first part of our special report, we hear the hopes, doubts, and scars still shaping people’s perspectives on both sides.

Peace, a word carrying centuries of weight in the South Caucasus. The desire for peace runs through the streets of Yerevan and Baku, but so do the memories of conflict. After decades of war and mistrust, how do ordinary people now see the path forward?

Citizen, Baku: “...I think from a political perspective, it's probably a good thing. But if we reflect on our own values on a moral level, the pain they made us endure has left very deep scars, I believe.”

Citizen, Yerevan: “It’s difficult. Living together with them is emotionally very hard. We can’t fully move on and act like nothing happened.”

Scars remain on both sides. So do doubts, and preconditions. Some speak of peace only under certain terms.

Citizen, Yerevan: “If we don’t give up any land, and everything stays the same, that would be great. But if we have to give up territory and hand it over to the Turks, then that’s not peace for us.”

Baba Masimov, Baku: “…Now Armenia is obviously stuck, and all of Azerbaijan’s conditions, none of which are unlawful, they all comply with the UN Charter, and are fully legitimate…”

Yet amid the bitterness, there is also hope. In both capitals, voices call for a better future.

Khachatur Armenakyan, Yerevan: “We’re neighbours, we need to live together. Neither we nor the Azerbaijanis are going anywhere.”

Vugar Babayev, Baku: “I suppose if a peace agreement is signed, that would be good… We all live in Azerbaijan, we have a beautiful country. Everything will be fine, God willing.”

For some, the past is irreconcilable. For others, peace is essential, for the next generation, and for survival itself.

Almaz Nuriyeva, Baku: “…As a mother, I wouldn’t give in, but there is a future, there is a new generation. Time will show…”

Marat, Yerevan: “We may have been enemies for many years, and we may see things differently, but still, we have to find a way to be neighbours again.”

Peace, many say, is not an option, it’s a necessity. But it must be built with truth, dignity, and understanding, across borders, and across generations.

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