Armenian FM expresses "cautious optimism" in peace talks with Azerbaijan

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan told parliament on May 24 that after talks in Washington, Brussels and Moscow, he has cautious optimism about negotiations over a peace agreement and settlement of relations with Azerbaijan.

"During all the meetings there were detailed negotiations aimed at mutual understanding, which gives reason for optimism," he said, Sputnik Armenia reports.

The minister added that during the talks the issues are divided into two categories - fundamental and vital, complementary or related. According to him, Yerevan and Baku have an understanding on a number of issues of the second group, but there are disagreements on vital issues.

"By and large, nothing has been coordinated yet. We assume that we will continue negotiations until we agree," Mirzoyan noted.

The foreign minister added that the red line for the Armenian side is the country's borders within 29.8 thousand square kilometres.

"There are these and other red lines, and talks on these areas are ongoing," he concluded.

Timeline

May 1- 4: Mirzoyan and Bayramov held four-day peace talks facilitated by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in Washington.  These talks, which represent the longest round of negotiations since the end of the Second Karabakh War in 2020, marked the third such ministerial meeting between Armenia and Azerbaijan as mediated by the United States since September 2022.

May 14: A trilateral meeting took place between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, EU Council President Charles Michel and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Brussels. This was the first time the two leaders met in person since talks in Munich in February and after the two countries' foreign ministers' extensive discussions in Washington in early May.

After the Brussels talks, Charles Michel stressed that both sides recognised each other’s territorial integrity on the basis of the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration. Moreover, Michel’s statement also explicitly specifies the square kilometre area of both countries. This means Armenia has officially recognised the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast as part of Azerbaijan. On May 22, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan reconfirmed in Yerevan that his country recognises Azerbaijan within a territory of 86,600 square kilometres, including Karabakh and some enclaves.

May 19: Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and Armenia counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan met in Moscow. After the meeting of the two ministers, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Armenia and Azerbaijan are close to agreeing an end to a blockade of transport links but more work is needed to seal a peace deal between the two countries.

May 25: Russia brokers the next meeting between Azerbaijan and Armenia in Moscow on May 25. Pashinyan said he had agreed to peace talks in Moscow on May 25 with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Russian President Vladimir Putin mediating.