Azerbaijan, Armenia eye preparations for future peace treaty

Azerbaijan, Armenia eye preparations for future peace treaty

By Vafa Ismayilova

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan have discussed work on preparations for a future peace treaty between the two countries.

Bayramov made the remarks on his official Twitter account on April 11.

“Had a telephone conversation with Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan. We had an exchange on the work on the preparation of future peace treaty, the convening of the Joint Border Commission, as well as humanitarian issues,” Bayramov tweeted.

The direct phone conversation between Azerbaijani and Armenian ministers, the first in about 30 years, is a follow-up to the agreements reached at the level of both states’ leaders in Brussels on April 6.

Meanwhile, EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia Toivo Klaar expressed support to direct contact and engagement between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

“Important development following last week’s Brussels meeting. EU is supportive of direct contacts and engagement,” he tweeted in response to Bayramov’s publication about the telephone conversation with his Armenian colleague.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and European Council President Charles Michel met in a trilateral format in Brussels on April 6.

The meeting was held for a continuation of the discussions on the situation in the South Caucasus region and the development of EU relations with both countries.

The leaders took stock of developments since their last meeting in Brussels in December 2021 and their videoconference, together with French President Emmanuel Macron, in February 2022. They reviewed progress on the implementation of undertaken commitments. The leaders discussed the recently reported tensions and reiterated the necessity of adhering fully to the provisions of the 9/10 November 2020 trilateral statement.

Both Aliyev and Pashinyan expressed a willingness to work quickly toward a peace agreement between their countries. To that end, it was decided to instruct foreign ministers to begin work on drafting a future peace treaty that would address all of the issues.

At the same time, it was also agreed to convene a Joint Border Commission by the end of April. The Joint Border Commission’s mandate will be to: delimit the bilateral border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and ensure a stable security situation along and in the vicinity of the borderline.

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