Ambassador: Azerbaijan and Armenia may reach a peace agreement in June

Azerbaijanʼs ambassador to France Leyla Abdullaeva believes that Azerbaijan and Armenia can sign a peace agreement in June. Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders will meet through the mediation of France and Germany.

She said this to a group of journalists in Paris, Reuters writes.

"We hope that a peace treaty will finally be signed on June 1 in Chisinau," she noted.

The summit of the European Political Community will be held in the capital of Moldova on June 1, which will be attended by the leaders of 47 European countries. It is expected that a meeting between President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of Armenia Nikolay Pashinyan will take place on the sidelines of the summit, mediated by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron.

• In 1991, Nagorno-Karabakh, with the support of Armenia, declared independence from Azerbaijan. This led to hostilities that lasted until 1994. The armed conflict ended with the signing of the Bishkek Protocol on Armistice and Ceasefire, but armed clashes occur periodically between the parties. Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.
• On September 27, 2020, the largest military conflict in recent years broke out in Nagorno-Karabakh, which lasted for a month and a half. The sides used tanks, heavy artillery and aviation. Approximately seven thousand people died during the conflict.
• On the night of November 10, representatives of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia (as a mediator) signed a statement on ending the war in Karabakh. According to the agreements, 1,960 Russian peacekeepers were deployed along the contact line in Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan won the right to occupy three districts — Kelbajar, Aghdam, and Lachin. The Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan said that this decision was very difficult for him, but there was no alternative. The President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev claimed that Pashinyan was "forced" to sign a document that was "maximum beneficial" for Baku.
• After 2020, Azerbaijan and Armenia held peace talks with the mediation of Russia, but to no avail. Armenia also constantly accused the Russian peacekeepers of failing to fulfill their duties, and Azerbaijan put pressure on Armenia to fulfill the agreements, in particular by shelling the border regions. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the European Union, in particular France, became involved in the settlement of the Karabash conflict. Through the mediation of the EU, Armenia and Azerbaijan have come as close as possible to a peace agreement. The countries are ready to recognize each otherʼs territorial integrity, in particular to recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as the territory of Azerbaijan. But Pashinyan said that this will happen if the security issue of Armenians in that region is resolved.