Conflicts: Armenia and Azerbaijan want to settle dispute

conflicts
Armenia and Azerbaijan want to settle dispute

A Russian peacekeeping force checkpoint on a road towards the Nagorno-Karabakh region. photo

© Vahram Baghdasaryan/PHOTOLURE/AP/dpa

Azerbaijan and Armenia have been at odds over Nagorno-Karabakh for decades. The two warring neighboring countries now want to take a step toward reconciliation.

After decades of fighting over the conflict region of Nagorno-Karabakh in the South Caucasus, the warring ex-Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan want to settle their dispute.

In Moscow, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan reiterated his announcement this week that he would recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan and open all transport links. “I think there is a possibility of a peace deal – especially given that Armenia has officially recognized Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan,” Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev replied.

Pashinyan and Aliyev met in the evening mediated by Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin. According to the Tass news agency, Putin said that in about a week the deputy heads of government of the two countries should talk about clarifying open questions. He was confident that solutions can be found. At the same time, Pashinyan said that the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh remained tense and blamed it on Azerbaijan.

Aliyev and Pashinyan were to meet in the evening, mediated by Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin, in order to possibly finalize the peace agreement. It was initially unclear whether this would succeed. The leadership of the internationally unrecognized region of Nagorno-Karabakh is not at the table. After the last war in 2020, Putin brokered a ceasefire and sent 2,000 Russian soldiers to the region to enforce the agreement. Nevertheless, there were always bloody battles. Large parts of the Armenian population are also against abandoning the conflict region.

“I would like to confirm that Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed to mutual recognition of each other’s territorial integrity,” Pashinyan said. “And based on that, we can say that we’re pretty well on our way to sorting out our relationship.” Aliyev confirmed that there is a chance of normalization of the relationship. Putin had said that the agreement was possible because it was in the interest of both sides’ economic development.

dpa

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