Armenia confirms removal of communications clause from peace treaty draft

The Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed the statement made by the Azerbaijani side regarding the removal of the regional communications clause from the draft peace treaty. 

The clause, which concerns the Zangezur Corridor, has been mutually agreed upon by both Armenia and Azerbaijan to be addressed at a later stage, Caliber.Az, citing Armenian media sources.

In response to a question from Armenian media, Ani Badalyan, spokesperson for the Armenian Foreign Ministry, elaborated on the matter. "Noting that the article related to regional communications was removed from the draft of the peace agreement by mutual consent, we must emphasize that their effective unblocking continues to be an important part of Armenia's vision and agenda for peace and economic development in the region," Badalyan stated.

Elchin Amirbayov, the special representative of the President of Azerbaijan, had earlier informed Radio Liberty about the agreement. "On mutual agreement, we decided to take this paragraph out of the peace agreement and to refer it to a later stage," he said. "I don't want to complicate even further the task of finalizing the peace agreement. So, we decided to take it out of the text, but we can still reflect in the text [on] the fact that this is one of the other issues on which the countries may come back at some point to discuss and to come to a common agreement," the official added.

This development signifies a step towards resolving one of the most contentious issues between the two countries, focusing on how to organize transport routes that will connect the rest of Azerbaijan with Nakhchivan.