Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Thursday called on Azerbaijan to begin consultations on signing a peace treaty, a text of which the arch-foe Caucasus neighbors agreed upon last week.
On Friday, the two countries said they had wrapped up talks on resolving the conflict, with both sides agreeing on the text of a possible treaty.
“The draft of Armenia-Azerbaijan peace agreement has been agreed upon and awaits signing,” Pashinyan said Thursday in an English post on Telegram.
“I propose Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to begin joint consultations on the signing of the agreed draft peace agreement.”
Baku has made clear its expectations that Armenia remove from its constitution a reference to its 1991 declaration of independence, which asserts territorial claims over Karabakh.
Any constitutional amendment would require a national referendum that could further delay the treaty’s finalization.
The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan has persisted since the late 1980s, centering on the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The First Karabakh War (1988-1994) resulted in approximately 30,000 deaths and over a million displaced individuals, primarily Azeris. A subsequent war in 2020 saw Azerbaijan reclaim most of the territory, with a final offensive in 2023 leading to the exodus of nearly all ethnic Armenians from the area.
The draft peace agreement represents a significant step towards normalizing relations between the two countries. However, challenges remain, including Azerbaijan’s demand for Armenia to amend its constitution to remove any territorial claims over Nagorno-Karabakh. Such an amendment would require a national referendum in Armenia, potentially delaying the treaty’s finalization.
International reactions have been positive, with leaders from the European Union and the United States welcoming the progress. French President Emmanuel Macron hailed the agreement as a decisive step towards lasting peace in the South Caucasus region.
The proposed peace treaty includes provisions for mutual recognition of territorial integrity based on Soviet-era borders and the establishment of diplomatic relations. Both nations have agreed to forego future territorial claims and have resolved contentious issues regarding the deployment of third-party forces along their borders.
Despite these advancements, the exact date for signing the peace treaty remains undetermined. Both Armenia and Azerbaijan have expressed readiness to finalize the agreement, marking a potential end to nearly four decades of conflict.
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