Azernews.Az

By Vafa Ismayilova

Senior Azerbaijani and Russian military officials have discussed the fulfillment of the trilateral statements signed by Baku, Moscow and Yerevan after the 44-day war in 2020, the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry reported on March 22.

The Baku-hosted meeting between Azerbaijani First Deputy Defence Minister, Chief of the Azerbaijani Army General Staff, Col-Gen Karim Valiyev and Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Land Forces of Russia's Armed Forces for peacekeeping operations Col-Gen Alexei Kim focused on issues related to the implementation of the articles of the Statement signed by the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders, as well as the operational situation on the territory of Azerbaijan, where the Russian peacekeepers are temporarily stationed.

The sides held a detailed exchange of views on the process of withdrawal of illegal Armenian armed groups from the territory of Azerbaijan under Article 4 of the statement of November 10, 2020, and a number of other issues.

Earlier, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov discussed the current situation in the region, including the implementation of the trilateral statements signed after the war.

In his phone conversation with Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan, Lavrov said that Russia is ready to provide any assistance in the conclusion of a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The two men confirmed the importance of implementation of the trilateral statements of November 10, 2020, January 11, 2021, and November 26, 2021, for the region, including the early launch of the process of delimitation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and the start of project activities to open transport and economic ties in the region.

In late February, President Ilham Aliyev said that Azerbaijan expects Armenia to fully comply with all the provisions of the trilateral declaration signed by Baku, Yerevan and Moscow on November 10, 2020.

He made the remarks while making a press statement with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow on February 22.

“We expect the Armenian side to fully comply with all the provisions of the Declaration of November 9-10, 2020, regarding the withdrawal of all Armenian armed forces from the territory of Karabakh, as well as the opening of communications between the main part of Azerbaijan and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, which is a legal obligation of the Armenian side,” he said.

The head of state noted that given Azerbaijan's long-term confrontation and massive losses, the fact that Azerbaijan and Armenia are already involved in at least two international formats [working group at the level of vice premiers of Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia, and the "3+3" platform] is an indication of the countries' intentions.

The trilateral ceasefire deal signed by the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders on November 10, 2020, ended the three-decade conflict over Azerbaijan’s Karabakh region which along with the seven adjacent districts came under the occupation of Armenian armed forces in the war in the early 1990s.

The deal also stipulated the return of Azerbaijan's Kalbajar, Aghdam and Lachin regions. Before the signing of the peace deal, Azerbaijan liberated 300 villages, settlements, city centers, and historic Shusha city that had been under Armenian occupation for about 30 years.

On January 11, 2021, the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders signed the second statement since the end of the 44-day war. The newly-signed statement was set to implement clause 9 of the November 2020 statement related to the unblocking of all economic and transport communications in the region.

On November 26, 2021, the three leaders signed a statement and agreed on a number of issues, including the demarcation and delimitation of the Azerbaijani-Armenian border by late 2021, some points related to humanitarian issues and the issue of unblocking of transport corridors which applies to the railway and to automobile communications.

On December 14, 2021, during the Brussels meeting, organized between Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders at the initiative of European Council President Charles Michel, the sides reaffirmed their commitment to the conditions agreed in the Sochi meeting.

Both sides agreed to establish a temporary working group on the delimitation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

The issue of demining the liberated territories of Azerbaijan was also brought up on the agenda, and the European Union's readiness to provide technical assistance to Azerbaijan in this regard was underlined at the meeting.

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