Azernews.Az

By Vugar Khalilov

Since the late 1980s, Azerbaijan has taken a constructive approach to the resolution of the Karabakh conflict, Azernews reports.

Azerbaijan's preconditions for resolving the conflict with Armenia were precise and crystal clear, as well as were in keeping with international law, that is, the restoration of its own territorial integrity, the return of refugees and IDPs to their homes, and unblocking of communication lines, which is critical for regional welfare and economic development.

Even after its historic victory over Armenia in 2020, which restored the country's territorial integrity, Azerbaijan displayed adherence to the aforementioned ideals by promising the restoration of ties with its arch-enemy.

The trilateral statement, signed by Azerbaijani, Armenian, and Russian leaders on November 10, 2020, that ended the second Karabakh war, envisaged the withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territories, as well as the unblocking of regional communication lines, such as highways and railways connecting Azerbaijan with its Nakhchivan exclave.

With a complete triumph over Armenia, Azerbaijan was able to impose its will on its hostile neighbor. Despite having the upper hand in the dispute, Azerbaijan behaved constructively and worked to achieve regional peace as quickly as feasible. Azerbaijan selected a win-win strategy rather than a zero-sum game. The criteria proposed by Azerbaijan for normalization of relations are also in Armenia's best interests since they include border delimitations and the unblocking of communication lines, both of which are critical for isolated Armenia.

However, as it has done for the past 30 years of pointless discussions, Armenia is taking an unconstructive attitude, offering a ludicrous excuse for postponing the peace process.

Following the first meeting between Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders in Brussels in late 2021, Baku outlined five essential principles for normalizing relations with Armenia. After a brief awkward pause, Yerevan responded with a six-point shambolic offer. According to Azerbaijan's foreign minister, Yerevan's six-point package was more of a "reaction" to Baku's proposal than a precondition for peace negotiations.

Recently, at a parliamentary briefing, Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Paruyr Hovhannisyan said that Baku has not officially responded to Yerevan's offers to normalize relations.

"We have not received an official response. Various interpretations and speculations on the subject have appeared in the media, but I have not been informed about the official position," he said.

In light of the positive outcomes of the Brussels summit, the Armenian diplomat's remarks are simply disappointing and demonstrate how damaging Armenia has been in the peace talks.

Following the third Brussels summit of Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders under the auspices of the EU, the sides agreed to create commissions to delimit the state border, with the first meeting taking place two days later that yielded some encouraging outcomes.

On the other hand, the June 3 meeting in Moscow of the trilateral working group on regional transport communications, led by Azerbaijani, Armenian, and Russian Deputy Prime Ministers Shahin Mustafayev, Mher Grigoryan, and Alexei Overchuk respectively, saw some constructive reconciliation among the parties as well.

The parties discussed and coordinated views on borders, customs, and other kinds of control, as well as safe transit of people, cars, and goods by roads and railways through the territories of Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Moreover, the parties discussed prospective routes for highways that would connect Azerbaijan’s western regions with its Nakhchivan exclave via Armenia. The parties agreed to keep working to execute the agreements reached by the Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russian leaders on the opening of regional transportation links.

However, during the discussion of the annual report on the state budget performance in parliament, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan stated that in the context of unblocking regional communications, there is a general notion that all the transport infrastructures and roads unblocked should operate under the sovereignty and legislation of the countries through which they pass.

He noted that one of the important areas of foreign policy activities at the moment is the unblocking of transport communications and economic ties in the region.

"As a result, an agreement was reached between the leaders of Armenia, Russia, and Azerbaijan in Sochi on November 26, 2021, and in Brussels on December 15 between the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the Council of Europe to resume the railway connection. Work in this direction is continuing. There is a common view that all unblocked transport infrastructure, roads, and railroads should operate under the sovereignty and legislation of the countries through which they pass," Mirzoyan stressed.

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov also underlined the critical importance of the Zangazur corridor for Armenia, adding that the countries have yet to register concrete outcomes on this project.

"Armenia keeps dragging out the issue on one pretext or another. It's the country with the most limited communication capabilities in the region. Therefore, the implementation of the Zangazur corridor is important for Armenia as much as for other South Caucasus states," Bayramov said.

To summarize, despite some favorable outcomes from discussions between the Azerbaijani and Armenian officials, Armenia remains prone to Sisyphean labor, zeroing the outcomes as it has done for three decades and restarting everything in the expectation of getting some advantages in the process.

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