Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that his state and Azerbaijan have no mutual territorial claims, which could pave the way for a peace agreement between the countries.
According to a correspondent of European Pravda , such a statement by Pashinyan was made at a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in Moscow on Thursday.
“I want to confirm that Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed on the mutual recognition of each other’s territorial integrity. And on this basis, we can say that we are moving very well towards the settlement of our relations,” Pashinyan said.
He also confirmed Armenia’s readiness to “unblock all transport and economic ties in the region and communications that pass through the territory of the Republic of Armenia.”
In turn, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said during his speech that “we have no territorial claims with Armenia,” although both leaders argued about the situation in the Lachin corridor, which, as the Armenian prime minister said, was “captured” by Azerbaijani forces.
As is known, the territorial dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia concerns the territory of the so-called Nagorno-Karabakh. It is part of the internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan, although after the collapse of the USSR, the Armenians who make up the majority there proclaimed it an independent state.
The issue of Nagorno-Karabakh once again arose after the six-week war of 2020 between Armenia and Azerbaijan, as a result of which a significant part of this territory came under the de facto control of Baku, and the rest were connected to Armenia by a single road – the Lachin corridor – under the protection of Russian peacekeepers.
But in recent months, Azerbaijan has stepped up hostilities in the region, gradually taking control of an ever larger area of unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh, including the Lachin corridor.
In recent months, the Armenian prime minister has repeatedly made statements that signaled his readiness to recognize Azerbaijan’s sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabakh.
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