BAKU: Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Tuesday said that a peace deal with Armenia was closer than ever before, as teams from both countries began demarcating the border to resolve long-standing territorial disputes and tensions.
President Aliyev’s remarks come amidst progress in marking the border, despite protests in Armenia following Azerbaijan’s swift seizure of the Nagorno-Karabakh region in a quick operation last year.
Teams from both countries initiated the installation of the first border marker after officials agreed to delineate a section based on Soviet-era maps. “We are close as never before,” Aliyev said about the elusive peace agreement. “We now have a common understanding of how the peace agreement should look like. We only need to address details.”
He emphasized the necessity for time and reiterated the shared political will between Azerbaijan and Armenia to achieve reconciliation.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan previously consented to return four border villages to Azerbaijan, which were originally part of Azerbaijan during their tenure as Soviet republics.
Aliyev said that Kazakhstan proposed to host a meeting between the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia, underscoring ongoing diplomatic efforts to facilitate dialogue.
While various countries, including Russia, Iran, the United States, France, and Germany, have attempted mediation, Aliyev downplayed its necessity, asserting that bilateral negotiations demonstrated progress.
Meanwhile, protests erupted in Armenia, with demonstrators expressing concerns about potential territorial concessions. Armenian officials reaffirmed their commitment to preserving the country’s sovereignty.
The four villages slated for return to Azerbaijan were seized by Armenian forces in the 1990s, displacing their ethnic Azerbaijani inhabitants.
Despite the territorial complexities, Pashinyan emphasized the significance of resolving the border dispute to prevent further conflict, highlighting the transition from a “line of contact” to a defined border as a symbol of peace.
