FM: Yerevan's rejection of meeting between Azerbaijan, Armenia's leaders hinders peace process

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Development David Lammy met on July 18 within the framework of the European Policy Community summit in Woodstock.

During the meeting, the sides discussed aspects and prospects of strategic partnership between Azerbaijan and the United Kingdom, issues of regional and international agenda, as well as the current state of the normalisation process between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Caliber.Az reports, citing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

It was stressed that Azerbaijan and the UK have established mutually beneficial cooperation in a number of areas, particularly in the energy sector, education and humanitarian ties, and the importance of Azerbaijan as an important trade partner was noted.

It was stated that UK companies successfully operate in both oil and non-oil sectors of Azerbaijan, broad opportunities for further deepening of economic cooperation were underlined.

At the same time, the sides considered issues of cooperation between the two countries in the field of green energy, as well as within the framework of Azerbaijan's chairmanship of the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29).

Bayramov emphasised the support of the UK in humanitarian demining. He also informed the interlocutor about the current situation in the region, the steps taken by Azerbaijan to promote the peace process, Azerbaijan's position on the normalisation of relations with Armenia, and reconstruction work in the liberated territories.

Moreover, the Azerbaijani minister stressed that despite significant progress in negotiations with Armenia on the text of the peace agreement, the Constitution and legislative acts of this country still retain claims to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan and this is the main obstacle in the peace process.

The Azerbaijani foreign minister expressed gratitude for the efforts of the UK to organise a meeting between the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia within the framework of the European Political Community summit and stated that the meeting did not take place because of Armenia's refusal, which does not contribute to the peace process.