Cautious optimism: Armenia’s FM says peace with Azerbaijan still fragile

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan has urged for measured expectations as Armenia and Azerbaijan navigate a fragile path toward peace. 

Speaking during a government session, Mirzoyan highlighted that despite recent diplomatic strides — including key talks in the United States — the peace process remains in its early stages. He warned that while violence has subsided, true and lasting peace requires time, trust, and careful diplomacy, Caliber.Az repots, citing Armenian media.

"Even if we sign a peace agreement in the near future, we still cannot say that everything is over and peace has been fully established," Mirzoyan stated, underscoring the need for cautious optimism.

He addressed critics who downplay recent developments as merely symbolic or procedural. “Despite the fact that they say this is only an initialing and not a formal signing — or that these are just papers — what occurred in the United States is a significant milestone,” he said. “Not only because of the texts that were agreed upon, but also due to the tone and substance of the statements made by the leaders during their public engagements.”

Mirzoyan stressed that peace is not simply a document or a ceremony, but a long-term process requiring sustained effort, mutual trust-building, and strategic restraint. “Peace is not established between friendly nations; it is established between peoples with a history of conflict, of bloodshed,” he said. “And peace, in such cases, demands care, attention, and caution — not just in actions, but in words, and in the crafting of every agreement.”

He acknowledged that many contentious issues remain unresolved between Armenia and Azerbaijan, but also noted that the current security situation is significantly more stable than in recent years. “To simplify matters: at the moment, the parties are not firing at one another, the risk of escalation is minimal, and the possibility of an acute conflict is close to zero,” he observed.

Nonetheless, Mirzoyan concluded with a sober reminder that declaring peace and achieving it are two different things. “Are there still problems? Many,” he said. 

By Vafa Guliyeva