Armenia and Azerbaijan reach breakthrough peace agreement

Armenia, Azerbaijan say they have finalized text of a treaty
The two have been locked in conflict for almost 40 years
Azerbaijan says Armenia must change constitution before treaty signed

Armenian and Azerbaijani officials have announced that they have agreed on the text of a peace agreement, marking a significant step toward ending nearly four decades of conflict. This unexpected breakthrough comes after years of stalled and often tense negotiations.

Armenia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday that a draft peace agreement with Azerbaijan had been finalized from its side.

“The peace agreement is ready for signing. The Republic of Armenia is ready to start consultations with the Republic of Azerbaijan on the date and place of signing the agreement.”

In its statement, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said: “We note with satisfaction that the negotiations on the text of the draft Agreement on Peace and the Establishment of Interstate Relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia have been concluded.”

However, the timeline for signing the deal is uncertain as Azerbaijan has said a prerequisite for its signature is a change to Armenia’s constitution, which it says makes implicit claims to its territory.

Armenia denies such claims, but Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said repeatedly in recent months that the country’s founding document needs to be replaced and has called for a referendum to do so. No date has been set.

Armenia accepted Azerbaijan’s proposals on “the two unresolved articles” of the draft agreement, the Armenian foreign ministry statement detailed.

“One of the two articles concerns the issue of not deploying forces from third countries along the border. The other concerns the mutual withdrawal of claims from international instances and the commitment not to take actions against each other,” Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said to journalists Thursday, reported Armenia’s state news agency Armenpress.

Azerbaijan confirmed the success of the peace talks. “We note with satisfaction that the negotiations on the text of the draft Agreement on Peace and the Establishment of Interstate Relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia have been concluded,” Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

However, hurdles remain. Azerbaijan also said Armenia’s constitution must “eliminate the claims against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan,” as a prerequisite to allow for the signing of the peace treaty.

“We are ready to continue the bilateral dialogue on these and other issues related to the normalization process between the two countries,” the statement said.

Armenia’s leader said Thursday there had been “no discussions” regarding Baku’s demand that Armenia amend its constitution, Armenpress reported.

The two nations, both former Soviet republics, have fought multiple wars since the late 1980s, when Nagorno-Karabakh, a region within Azerbaijan with a predominantly ethnic Armenian population at the time, attempted to break away with Armenia’s support. The agreement signals a potential end to one of the most prolonged disputes in the South Caucasus.

Header image: Maxim Shemetov / POOL/AFP