Armenia
Russia is trying to broker peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan
The events of the last year in the long-standing confrontation between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh give some hope to believe that Russia’s mediation efforts in this matter are having some success. At least, the meeting of the leaders of the three countries held on November 26 at the residence of the Russian president in Sochi was perceived with cautious optimism, writes Alexi Ivanov, Moscow correspondent.
The initiator of the trilateral meeting of the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan was the Russian side. The agenda of the meeting included discussion of the implementation of the agreements of November 9 last year and January 11 this year, as well as further steps to strengthen stability in the region.
The meeting in Sochi is timed to coincide with the anniversary of the signing of the ceasefire agreement and all military operations in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone in November 2020.
The conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh escalated in the fall of 2020 and quickly shifted to hostilities. Both sides suffered losses in manpower and equipment, civilian buildings were destroyed.
In November 2020, a ceasefire agreement was concluded with the mediation of Russia. Armenia was supposed to return to Azerbaijan part of the territories that came under the control of Yerevan back in the early 90s, leaving the Lachin corridor for communication with Nagorno-Karabakh. Russia has brought peacekeepers into the region. Baku and Yerevan have agreed on the principle of “all for all” in the exchange of prisoners in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone.
The exchange of detained persons began in December 2020. Despite the agreement, there have been repeated clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan. On November 16, 2021, fighting with the use of armored vehicles and artillery took place again on the border of Armenia and Azerbaijan. This is the most serious incident between the two countries over the past year: both sides suffered losses, several Armenian soldiers were captured.
Aliyev said that Azerbaijan is ready to begin the delimitation of the border with Armenia. “We also publicly offered the Armenian side to start working on a peace treaty to put an end to the confrontation, to recognize each other’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and to live in the future as neighbors and learn to live again as neighbors,” he added.
In Sochi the leaders of the countries discussed the process of implementing the agreements of November 9 last year and January 11 this year. In addition, the heads of the three countries outlined further actions to strengthen stability and establish peaceful life in the region. As noted in the Kremlin, special attention was paid to the restoration and development of trade, economic and transport ties.
Putin also held separate talks with Aliyev and Pashinyan. Since the signing of the agreement on the cessation of hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan, clashes have repeatedly occurred.
Since November last year, the ceasefire in Karabakh has been supported by about two thousand Russian peacekeepers. There are 27 observation posts of the Russian military in the region, most of all in the zone of the Lachin corridor, which connects Karabakh with Armenia.
In addition, the Russians are engaged in mine clearance of the former war zone.
According to Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan, “Russian peacekeepers and the Russian Federation play a key role in stabilizing the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh and in the region.” At the same time, Yerevan believes that the situation on the line of contact with the Azerbaijani armed forces is not as stable as the Armenian side would like. After November 9 last year, several dozen people have already died on both sides, incidents occur in Nagorno-Karabakh, and since May 12, 2021, as the Armenian Government is convinced, a crisis situation has actually developed on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.
In November 2021, another border dispute (this time away from Karabakh) turned into bloodshed and artillery duels and was stopped only after Moscow’s intervention.
Thus, Baku today seeks to establish land communication with its enclave, the Nakhichevan Republic, the road to which should pass through Armenia. At the same time, the main task for Yerevan today is to return home all Armenian prisoners of war.
Following the talks in Sochi, the leaders of the three countries adopted a joint statement, in which, in particular, they reaffirmed their commitment to further consistent implementation and strict compliance with all the provisions of the statements of November 9, 2020 and January 11, 2021 in the interests of ensuring stability, security and economic development of the South Caucasus.
Both Baku and Yerevan highlight the important contribution of the Russian peacekeeping contingent to the stabilization of the situation and ensuring security in the region.
Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia confirmed their determination to work towards the establishment of a bilateral Commission on the delimitation of the state border between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia with its subsequent demarcation with the advisory assistance of the Russian Federation at the request of the parties.
The Armenian and Azerbaijani sides highly appreciated the activities of the Trilateral Working Group on unblocking all economic and transport ties in the region. They stressed the need to launch concrete projects as soon as possible in order to unlock the economic potential of the region.
According to President Putin, Russia will continue to provide all necessary assistance in the interests of normalization of relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia.
Presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan Vladimir Putin and Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan have agreed to create mechanisms for demarcation and delimitation of the border between the two Transcaucasian republics by the end of the year.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, after telephone talks with the head of the European Council Charles Michel, agreed to hold another round of talks this year, namely, on December 15 in Brussels within the framework of the EU and Eastern Partnership summit, the European Union said in a statement.
“The head of the European Council Charles Michel proposed to hold a meeting between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Brussels on the sidelines of the EU-Eastern Partnership summit. The leaders agreed to hold a meeting in Brussels to discuss the regional situation and ways to overcome tensions
Share this article:
-
Trade4 days ago
The elusive US-Iranian executive who might be defying sanctions: The Iranian shadow network
-
Azerbaijan1 day ago
Azerbaijan is wondering what happened to the benefits of peace?
-
Azerbaijan24 hours ago
Azerbaijan supports the global environmental agenda hosting COP29
-
US4 days ago
How the US will be changed domestically under the Trump II Administration