Prepared in collaboration with our partners at hayaliq.com
On July 7, 2022, at the opening ceremony of the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy’s “Diplomacy Week,” Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayrahmov noted that the negotiations of “peace” with Armenia as a process should be divided into stages.
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Bayramov recalled that “there are no unacceptable points in the basic principles proposed by Azerbaijan for Armenia,” then adding that he “cannot say that there is much progress in the negotiations, but there are opinions and responses around the discussions. Of course, not one-sided. On the Armenian side, there are still those who hold revanchist views, but there are other opinions. Everyone should understand that sustainable peace and development have no alternative. We hope that the political leadership and important figures of Armenia will understand the realities.”
Bayramov also addressed the process of delimitation, noting that, “the creation of the commission for the definition of borders in itself was a complex process. Armenia had preconditions. They demanded to take measures related to de-escalation and withdrawal of the Azerbaijani military from the border. However, Azerbaijan presented its position. We believe that we are standing on our borders, and it is our duty to protect our borders.” He also noted that, given the relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the process of delimitation will not be easy and there will be some sensitive moments.
Thus, a high-ranking Azerbaijani official states that the proposal of the de facto Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia on the “mirror withdrawal of troops from the borders” was rejected by Azerbaijan, and Azerbaijan is not only not going to withdraw troops from the front line to reduce tensions, but also is not going to allow the liberation of the sovereign territories of the Republic of Armenia occupied by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces since November 2020. According to the data approved by the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Armenia, since November 2020, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces have occupied more than 70 square kilometres of the internationally recognized territory of the Republic of Armenia. It’s unclear, however, whether there are other territories occupied by Azerbaijan in Armenia, since the media activity in the border zone has been strictly limited, making it impossible to get clear information about Azerbaijan’s other infiltration in Armenia’s territory. An online map of the occupied Armenian territories is available here.
It should also be noted that the 5 principles presented by Azerbaijan on March 12, which Baku considers “acceptable” for Armenia, include mutual recognition of the territorial integrity and continuity of borders, mutual confirmation of the absence of territorial requirements and the obligation not to make such demands in the future. This means that the recognition of the occupation of Artsakh by the RA and the exhaustion of any opportunity to voice the existence of the Artsakh becomes a problem in the future.
View the article in Armenian, from our partners at HayAliq.
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