Tehran welcomes Armenia-Azerbaijan agreement on peace deal
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei welcomed the news of an agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan on the terms of a peace agreement between the two republics, describing it as a necessary and important step towards achieving lasting peace in the South Caucasus region.
The spokesperson expressed hope that with the commitment of Azerbaijan and Armenia to resolving disputes through dialogue and diplomacy, the world would soon witness the signing of a peace agreement between the two countries and lasting peace and stability in the region.
Azerbaijan and Armenia said Thursday that they had wrapped up talks aimed at resolving the Caucasus neighbors’ decades-long conflict, with both sides agreeing on the text of a possible treaty.
A deal to normalize ties would be a major breakthrough in a region where Russia, the European Union, the United States and Turkey all jostle for influence.
Baku and Yerevan fought two wars for control of Azerbaijan’s Armenian-populated region of Karabakh, at the end of the Soviet Union and again in 2020, before Azerbaijan seized the entire area in a 24-hour offensive in September 2023.
Both Armenia and Azerbaijan have repeatedly said a comprehensive peace deal to end their long-standing conflict is within reach, but previous talks had failed to reach consensus on a draft agreement.
“The negotiation process on the text of the peace agreement with Armenia has been concluded,” Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov told reporters.
“Armenia has accepted Azerbaijan’s proposals on the two previously unresolved articles of the peace treaty,” he said.
Armenia’s Foreign Ministry later confirmed that in a statement, saying, “Negotiations on the draft agreement have been concluded” and “the Peace Agreement is ready for signing.”
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan hailed it as an “important event,” saying Yerevan was “ready to begin discussions on the place and time for signing the peace agreement.”
“We believe this text is a compromise, as a peace agreement should be,” he told reporters.