Following a more optimistic message from Yerevan, Azerbaijan’s foreign minister said at the annual UN General Assembly meeting on Saturday that a “partial peace” with Armenia is unlikely.
The two former Soviet republics had seen decades of war and tension over Nagorno-Karabakh, a breakaway ethnic Armenian region in Azerbaijan.
After a series of slow-moving negotiations, Azerbaijan rushed in troops last year and rapidly annexed the region, whose entire population of about 120,000 people had fled to Armenia.
“After so much pain and suffering… partial peace followed by territorial claims against neighbors is not an option,” Jehun Bayramov told the gathering. ,
Azerbaijan’s aggressive aggression last year unfolded during high-level UN meetings in New York, sparking distrust and frustration among Western diplomats, particularly US and French officials who were deeply involved in mediation efforts.
On Thursday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said peace with Azerbaijan is “not only possible, but also within reach.”
Both Azerbaijan and Armenia say the treaty is 80 percent ready, including border demarcation, but Azerbaijan wants all issues resolved first.
In his UN address, Pashinyan said he was ready to meet the Baku government’s key demand to allow transport access from Armenian soil to the exclave of Nakhchivan, allowing Azerbaijan to link its core territory with its traditional ally Turkey. Can add.
Pashinyan stressed that Azerbaijan and Armenia should immediately sign the draft treaty, pointing out, “There is no precedent for a peace agreement or an agreement that would regulate and resolve everything.”
But on Saturday, Bayramov said any deal finalized would require Armenia to “legally abandon forever its territorial claims against Azerbaijan by enacting constitutional amendments” that would put Baku’s territorial integrity in “legal jeopardy.” Don’t be.
He also accused Yerevan of “dramatically increasing” its military budget and “acquiring large quantities of offensive weapons from both traditional and new suppliers.”
Bayramov nevertheless acknowledged “significant progress” in efforts by the neighbors to normalize relations, calling for “prompt steps” to complete the process “at this critical moment.”
Any changes to Armenia’s constitution must be made through referendum, which is a lengthy and uncertain process. Western diplomats said they saw this request as an impossible request for Baku to avoid signing an agreement.
COP29, the United Nations’ annual climate change talks that bring together officials from around the world, will take place in the Azerbaijani capital Baku in November, potentially increasing the pace of agreement.
The international community is putting additional pressure on Baku to reach an agreement before COP29.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
