Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister accused Armenia of obstructing the signing of a peace settlement, and mentioned Yerevan is refusing to participate within the third spherical of negotiations.
“The active phase for the signing of this (peace) agreement is now behind us. The Armenian side is currently preventing the signing of the peace agreement and we also saw that they refused to participate in the third round of negotiations,” Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov mentioned at a joint news convention within the capital Baku together with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday.
Bayramov mentioned the highest diplomats mentioned the present scenario within the South Caucasus area throughout a gathering that additionally emphasised the significance of tripartite agreements.
He additionally mentioned they addressed points associated to the post-conflict interval and efforts for the signing of a peace settlement between Baku and Yerevan, including that Azerbaijan is prepared to participate in trilateral talks however Yerevan has not given a closing reply.
“The issue related to illegal activities of Armenia in the Azerbaijani lands, which was once occupied, should be discussed at the legal level. The peace deal has no impact on the signing process, but it is negotiated separately,” Bayramov additional mentioned regarding the arbitration case filed by Baku towards Yerevan on Monday for exploiting power assets within the Karabakh area, which was underneath 30 years of Armenian occupation.
For his half, Lavrov mentioned there was an settlement final December between all sides to carry the following trilateral talks in Moscow however Armenia knowledgeable Russia they might not attend the assembly.
“The Armenian side has also stated that it does not object to this, but has not given a final answer for now. I do not think we will insist on providing our services. However, these proposals are well known to both parties,” he mentioned.
Lavrov additionally famous that the operate of the Lachin highway, connecting Armenia to the Karabakh area, should adjust to the tripartite declaration of November 2020, which underlined the significance of “ensuring humanitarian aid and civilians pass through the Lachin road without exception.”
“We are trying to achieve this through our contacts and primarily through peacekeeping forces. The establishment of any checkpoints there (in Karabakh) is not being discussed. However, it is possible to eliminate apprehensions, of the corridor not being used to serve its purpose, with technical means. We touched on that today,” he additional mentioned.
Lavrov additionally commented on the deployment of an EU civilian mission in Armenia, which was formally launched final Monday, saying that it raises “serious doubts in terms of legitimacy.”
“We cannot comment on the details of the announcements from Brussels. We see how the EU has abused its relations with Armenia and Azerbaijan. At the same time, the mission’s function, goals and mandate raises many questions about whether this mission will add additional value to the efforts to normalize Armenia-Azerbaijan relations,” he added.
Bayramov and Lavrov later attended the third assembly of the Russia-Azerbaijan Expert Council, the place bilateral relations and additional growth of cooperation between Azerbaijani and Russian specialists had been mentioned.
Relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian navy occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally acknowledged as a part of Azerbaijan, and 7 adjoining areas.
In the autumn of 2020, throughout 44 days of heavy preventing, Azerbaijan liberated a major a part of Karabakh, and a Russian-brokered peace settlement was subsequently signed.
The peace settlement has not, nonetheless, ended battle alongside the border and different disputes between the 2 nations.
Source: www.dailysabah.com
