Baku, Washington discuss regional situation, Azerbaijan-Armenia ties normalization
By Vugar Khalilov
Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Karen Donfried have discussed the regional situation and the normalization of the Azerbaijani-Armenian ties, Azernews reports, citing the ministry.
In a telephone conversation on September 5, the parties touched upon the regional situation, in particular, attempts to improve relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, as well as bilateral matters.
Referring to the Brussels meeting between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan under the aegis of European Union Council President Charles Michelon on August 31, Bayramov stressed that Azerbaijan is ready for preparing draft texts of a peace deal as agreed upon at the meeting.
The minister highlighted that Azerbaijan has consistently made initiatives to promote the peace agenda. They also discussed perspectives on bilateral cooperation, agenda items, and other matters of mutual interest.
The sides agreed to continue contacts.
In the meantime, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said that a chance for long-term peace and stability in the South Caucasus has long come following Azerbaijan’s victory in Karabakh, Azernews reports.
The top diplomat made the remarks at a joint press conference with his French counterpart Catherine Colonna in Ankara on September 5.
Cavusoglu emphasized the need for supporting dialogue between Turkiye and Armenia, as well as Azerbaijan and Armenia.
To recap, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met for the fourth time in Brussels on August 31 under the auspices of EU Council President Charles Michel to look into ways of expediting preparations for drafting a peace deal.
After the meeting, Michel said that Azerbaijan and Armenia decided to accelerate substantive work on the peace treaty governing inter-state ties between the two countries and tasked the foreign ministers to meet within a month to work on a draft text.
The parties also thoroughly discussed humanitarian issues like demining, detainees, and the fate of missing people.
The leaders assessed progress on all issues relating to border delimitation and how to best guarantee a stable situation and agreed that the next Border Commissions meeting to be held in Brussels in November.
The parties discussed the status of negotiations on the mechanisms for unblocking transport lines.
Michel emphasized the need for bringing the populations on both sides along and preparing them for long-term sustainable peace.
“Public messaging is critical in this regard – in a sensitive situation as every word spoken in public is obviously listened to by the other side and weighed,” he said.
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