2023 ends on a positive note Opinion by Adnan Huseyn

In his latest post on X, Adnan Huseyn, founder of re-Azerbaijan, shared his year-end evaluation of the Azerbaijani-Armenian peace process. Caliber.Az reprints the article.

The Prime Minister of Armenia and the President of Azerbaijan addressed peace-related issues in St. Petersburg, Russia, as conveyed by Prime Minister's spokesperson Nazeli Baghdasaryan to RFE/RL. "During the informal summit of the CIS, informal contacts took place between Nikol Pashinyan and Ilham Aliyev.

Issues related to the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace agenda were discussed. The discussions were in a bilateral format," stated the Prime Minister's spokesperson. This marked the first meeting between the leaders of the two countries since Azerbaijan's anti-terrorist operation in September. Although face-to-face negotiations were absent, the parties exchanged a draft peace treaty during this period.

Yerevan confirmed recently that it received the 7th version of the document from Baku. The Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan mentioned anticipated meetings in 2024, but Jeyhun Bayramov did not specify the location and dates.

It's noteworthy that sides have also participated in direct state-level talks regarding the border delimitation and demarcation process. A joint statement on December 7th resulted in the release of 32 Armenian and 2 Azerbaijani prisoners, along with mutual support in the field of international events.

While signing peace by the year's end, as speculated and hoped for by many, seems unattainable, the past months have indeed been the most calm, peaceful, and productive for both sides. Direct negotiations appear to be the most viable option, and as previously stated, if not on the border of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Georgia seems to be the ideal place for the historic peace document to be signed.

The end of the year for Armenia-Azerbaijan relations seems to be concluding on a more positive note, paving the way for hope that the long-overdue and awaited peace can be signed sooner rather than later.