Azerbaijani, Armenian FMs eye normalization of ties

By Azernews

By Vugar Khalilov

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan have discussed the normalization of ties between the two countries, the Foreign Ministry reported on November 11.

The meeting between the foreign ministers was held in Paris on November 10, 2021, on the sidelines of the UNESCO General Conference.

The sides exchanged views on the normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, taking into account the new realities that emerged in the region following the 44-day war in 2020. Bayramov informed Mirzoyan about Azerbaijan's position on the post-conflict situation.

The meeting was also attended by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs Andrew Schaefer from the USA, Brice Roquefeuil from France and Igor Khovaev from Russia, as well as, Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk.

Furthermore, Bayramov had also meetings with the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.

 Baku has repeatedly made all the necessary proposals to Yerevan with regard to the post-war situation. Namely - to sign a peace treaty, to recognize each other's territorial integrity and to begin the delimitation and demarcation of borders. 

A Moscow-brokered ceasefire deal that Baku and Yerevan signed on November 10, 2020, brought an end to six weeks of fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani army declared a victory against the Armenian troops. The signed agreement obliged Armenia to withdraw its troops from the Azerbaijani lands that it has occupied since the early 1990s.

The peace agreement stipulated the return of Azerbaijan's Armenian-occupied Kalbajar, Aghdam and Lachin regions and urged Armenia to withdraw its troops from the Azerbaijani lands that it has occupied since the early 1990s. Before the signing of the deal, the Azerbaijani army had liberated around 300 villages, settlements, city centers, and historic Shusha city.