Peace talks underway between Armenia, Azerbaijan
Both countries' Foreign Ministers will meet on Sunday in Geneva to come to terms with a three-decades-old conflict.
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Secretary of State Antony Blinken, center, meets with an Armenian delegation including Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, third from left, and a delegation with Azerbaijan including Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, third from right, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, Pool)
A peace talk is underway between Armenia and Azerbaijan and both Foreign Ministers Ararat Mirzoyan and Jeyhun Bayramov are scheduled to me on October 2 in Geneva, according to Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
On September 23, Armenia and Azerbaijan accused each other of breaches of the ceasefire at the joint border. On September 14, a ceasefire between the two countries went into effect after the September 13 ceasefire agreement collapsed right after it went into effect.
Pashinyan said on Friday that both Foreign Ministers will meet on Sunday in Geneva "to begin substantive talks regarding the text of the peace agreement."
"So far, there wasn't a single document on the negotiating table, which we could sign or reject," he said in televised remarks.
The two foreign ministers previously met in a trilateral meeting with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on September 19 in New York to discuss the importance of returning to the peace process. Nothing has been decided yet, but Armenia is expecting the US to sanction Baku in light of the latest escalations in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
About 286 people were killed in the clashes last month prior to the agreement of a truce concluded on September 14 which halted fighting on both sides.
“Baku unilaterally offered the Armenian side a humanitarian ceasefire," Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said at a meeting with Russian presidential representative for international cultural cooperation Mikhail Shvydkoy on September 14.
On September 12, Baku accused the Armenian military of firing at the positions of the Azerbaijani troops near the border. Yerevan, in turn. said that the Azerbaijani military shelled the Armenian side, using artillery and drones, as a result of which several Armenian servicemen were killed.
The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry also reported losses in its ranks. The clashes continued the following day and Armenia demanded that an international observer mission be deployed on the ground.
A Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) mission landed on September 15 at the Armenia-Azerbaijan border to monitor both sides.
Six weeks of violence in the autumn of 2020 claimed over 6,500 lives and ended with a ceasefire accord sponsored by Russia. Russia sent 2,000 peacekeepers to monitor the truce, but tensions remain despite a ceasefire deal.
Russia sent 2,000 peacekeepers to monitor the truce, but tensions remain despite a ceasefire deal.
With Moscow gaining momentum and further asserting its status in light of the recent ratification of four Ukrainian regions into Russia, the US and the EU have been struggling to take the leading role in mediating the Armenia-Azerbaijan normalization process.
In their last meetings mediated by European Council President Charles Michel, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Pashinyan agreed to "advance discussions" on a future peace treaty.
They last met in Brussels on August 31 during which they discussed border delimitation and the reopening of transport links.
Armenian separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh broke away from Azerbaijan in 1990 when the Soviet Union collapsed. This break claimed the lives of nearly 30,000 people.
