Azerbaijani FM: Peace process with Armenia facilitates lasting regional stability

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said discussions with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow focused on the Azerbaijan-Armenia peace process and broader security developments in the South Caucasus.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Lavrov after their talks on July 17, Bayramov said the 44-day war had created new realities and a new security framework in the region, Caliber.Az reports per local media. 

“Today we discussed pressing issues on the international and regional agenda, focusing specifically on the situation in the South Caucasus. The 44-day Patriotic War of the Azerbaijani people has created new realities and a new security framework in the South Caucasus. This security framework is based on the supremacy of international law, and I would particularly like to emphasise the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the inviolability of internationally recognised states,” Bayramov said.

He said recent developments in the normalisation process between Azerbaijan and Armenia, including the initialling of a draft peace agreement, had created a unique opportunity to establish long-term peace, security and prosperity in the region.

Bayramov also briefed Lavrov on reconstruction efforts in territories that came under Azerbaijani control and the return of former internally displaced persons to those areas.

“As relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan normalise, we can say with confidence that a de facto peace exists today. The positive initiatives—the peace initiatives from the Azerbaijani side—that we are implementing, including confidence-building measures, have significantly accelerated and made a major positive contribution to the normalisation process between Azerbaijan and Armenia. “We are convinced that fulfilling the remaining tasks of the peace process will create the necessary conditions for normalisation,” emphasised the Azerbaijani foreign minister.

By Sabina Mammadli