A two-day round of talks between the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan ended on Saturday in Almaty Kazakhstan, with Yerevan signaling that differences continued to remain in an eventual peace agreement between the two countries.
Foreign Minster Ararat Mirzoyan and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Jeyhun Bayramov, kicked off the latest round of talks, hosted by Kazakhstan’s foreign minister Murat Nurtleu, on Friday and on Saturday, the Armenian foreign ministry announced that the sides have agreed to continue talks on the “difference” that remain.
“The Ministers welcomed the progress on delimitation and agreements reached in this regard. The Ministers and their delegations continued discussions on the provisions of the draft bilateral Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and Interstate Relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The parties agreed to continue negotiations on the open issues where differences still exist,” the Armenian foreign ministry said in a statement, without specifying the said “differences.”
The border delimitation process began last month with Yerevan ceding four villages in the Tavush Province, causing a wide-spread opposition protest and the emergence of the “Tavush for the Homeland” movement that has seen tens of thousands of protesters calling for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s resignation.
Presiden Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan demanded that Armenia change its constitution and remove references to Artsakh. In his public statements, Pashinyan has pushed for such a change, claiming that provisions such as the the reunification of Artsakh with Armenia will pose a threat to regional peace.
Ahead of the meeting on Friday, Mirzoyan insisted that both sides had publicly agreed to advance the border delimitation process based on the 1991 Alma Ata declaration, which set the borders of the former Soviet Republics. While Yerevan has advanced this agenda, Baku has remained reticent to agree to publicly acknowledge that the process would proceed based on that document.
Soon after the handover of the four villages in Tavush, Aliyev demanded four more villages, which it said were being “occupied” by Armenia in the Gegharkunik, Syunik and Vayots Dzor provinces. Baku also continues to insist on the opening of a so-called land “corridor” through Armenia that would give it access to Nakhichevan and, therefore, Turkey.
Mirzoyan said Monday hat his meeting with Bayramov was held in a “constructive atmosphere.”
“The [negotiation] process is continuing in line with the accepted principles and in accordance with the principles that we have repeatedly stated,” Mirzoyan said during a joint press conference with his visiting Maltan counterpart Ian Borg, who is the current OSCE Chairman in Office.
Mirzoyan added that Armenia believes that by enshrining the principles of the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration in the peace treaty being discussed with Azerbaijan, it can put an end to the long-standing conflict and establish a stable peace in the South Caucasus.
“This agreement reaffirmed the positions previously expressed by the Prime Minister of Armenia and the President of Azerbaijan on various platforms. They agreed that the Alma-Ata Declaration should serve as the basis for mutual recognition of the territorial integrity of both countries and the delimitation process,” explained Mirzoyan who recounted that the Armenian Azerbaijani leader publicly announced their agreement in Prague in 2022.
“I hope that enshrining this principle in a peace treaty and signing a peace treaty can put an end to this long-standing conflict and establish a stable and lasting peace in the region,” Mirzoyan added on Monday.
