Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres welcomes the joint statement issued by Armenia and Azerbaijan announcing a series of confidence-building measures and reaffirming their commitment to normalize bilateral relations, Azernews reports, citing Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General Stéphane Dujarric.

“The United Nations encourages the parties to build on the agreement to advance mutual confidence and secure long-term peace for the benefit of their populations and the region,” the spokesperson added.

On December 7, 2023, the Presidential Administration of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia released a joint statement. Two countries reconfirmed their intention to normalize relations and reach the peace treaty on the basis of respect for the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.

“Driven by the values of humanism and as a gesture of goodwill, the Republic of Azerbaijan releases 32 Armenian military servicemen.

In its turn, driven by the values of humanism and as a gesture of goodwill, the Republic of Armenia releases 2 Azerbaijani military servicemen,” the Joint Statement said.

As a sign of good gesture, the Republic of Armenia supported the bid of the Republic of Azerbaijan to host the 29th Session of the Conference of Parties (COP29) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, by withdrawing its own candidacy. The Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan do hope that the other countries within the Eastern European Group will also support Azerbaijan’s bid to host. As a sign of good gesture, the Republic of Azerbaijan supports the Armenian candidature for Eastern European Group COP Bureau membership.