Aliyev says there no serious obstacles for a peace treaty with Armenia
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The Azerbaijani President says that there are no serious obstacles for a peace treaty to signing a peace treaty with Armenia after it recognized Azerbaijani sovereignty over Nagarno-Karabakh
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Ilham Aliyev speaks at a meeting with the German Chancellor Olaf Shcholz in Berlin, Germany, May 14 2023 (Reuters)
Azerbaijan and Armenia edge closer to signing a peace treaty after the latter expressed its willingness to recognize Azeri sovereignty over the Nagarno-Karabakh region, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated on Sunday.
"Now, after Armenia has recognized our territorial integrity, there are practically no serious obstacles in the way of a peace treaty. I am sure that if Armenia... does not change its position, a peace treaty can be signed in the near future," the Azerbaijani President said during a meeting in the Lachin region.
Media reports citing the Azerbaijani ambassador to France Leyla Abdullayeva said that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Aliyev are set to sign the agreement on June 1 at the European Political Summit in Chisinau, Moldova.
Russian mediation ensures recognition
The two heads of state met on May 25 in Moscow where they both recognized the territorial integrity of each other's regions.
"Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed on mutual recognition of each other's territorial integrity and on this basis we are making good progress towards the normalization of our relations," Pashinyan said during a speech at a meeting of the expanded Supreme Eurasian Economic Council.
Pashinyan also touched on the rights and security of people in Nagorno-Karabakh.
"I hope that a normal, constructive dialogue between Baku and Stepanakert will begin in a short time," he said.
Baku and Yerevan fought two wars -- in 2020 and in the 1990s -- for control of the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
In the same context, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he hopes to discuss all outstanding issues with leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan at the trilateral meeting in Moscow.
"Today, at a trilateral meeting, I think we could discuss all this, I hope that we will be able to agree on what is clearly in the sphere of economic development interests for both Azerbaijan and Armenia and for the entire region," Putin indicated at a meeting of the expanded Supreme Eurasian Economic Council, adding that hopefully Armenia and Azerbaijan will be able to come to a consensus.
Armenia makes concessions
Earlier in May Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that Yerevan is willing to recognize all of Azerbaijan's sovereignty over all its territory including the disputed region of Nagorno Karabakh.
"Those 86.6 thousand square kilometers also include Nagorno-Karabakh. But we also need to state that the issues of the rights and security of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians have to be discussed in the Baku-Stepanakert format," Pashinyan told a briefing.
Pashinyan said that he expects Baku to recognize Armenia's sovereign territory of 29.8 thousand square kilometers.
Pashinyan added that guarantees should be given for the safety of Armenians living in Karabakh: to ensure that no ethnic purges or genocide is perpetrated against them.
The two former Soviet republics have been warring for decades now over territorial disputes. In 2020, Azerbaijan launched a bloody war recapturing the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabkh. In the process, thousands of Armenians and Azerbaijanis were killed.
Territorial integrity has been the primary cause of discord between the two countries and thus it is expected to be at the top of the agenda. Last month, Pashinyan announced that Yerevan is willing to accept Azerbaijani sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabakh.
