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Azerbaijani, Armenian FMs negotiate draft peace deal in Geneva

03 October 2022 [12:50] - TODAY.AZ

By Azernews

By Vugar Khalilov

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan met to negotiate a draft peace treaty in Geneva on October 2, Azernews reports, citing the ministry.

The bilateral meeting was organized in accordance with the task assigned to foreign ministers to develop the text of the peace treaty as agreed by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on August 31 in Brussels under the auspices of European Union Council President Charles Michel.

Bayramov stressed the importance of efforts on normalizing interstate ties between Azerbaijan and Armenia and negotiating a peace treaty in the post-conflict period. The minister called Armenia's attention to the peace treaty provisions based on Azerbaijan's five principles in this respect.

Taking into account the recent tensions on the undelimited border, Bayramov proposed conducting the next meeting of the bilateral commissions on delimitation in October, rather than November as originally scheduled.

The Azerbaijani top diplomat emphasized the significance of the full withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from Azerbaijani territory, the opening of transport and communication lines in a timely manner based on preliminary agreements, reached in the trilateral commission led by deputy prime ministers, the need to move forward in the field of border delimitation as envisaged in the trilateral statements, signed by the Azerbaijani, Armenian, and Russian leaders.

Concerning humanitarian issues, the minister stressed the need for clarifying the fates of almost 4,000 missing Azerbaijanis, as well as the inadmissibility of Armenia's ongoing mine-laying campaign in Azerbaijani territory, which causes numerous tragic losses and is considered a war crime and a gross violation of Armenia's obligations under the trilateral statement.

Bayramov emphasized Azerbaijan's commitment to regional peace and stability, as well as its willingness to sign a peace deal. It was decided that negotiations in this respect would continue.

In the same vein, Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin and US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan discussed the normalization of the Azerbaijani-Armenian ties in Istanbul, Azernews reports citing the White House press service.

"They also discussed regional security issues, including their support for peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the importance of dialogue and diplomacy to resolve any differences in the Eastern Mediterranean, and the progress of Finland and Sweden towards NATO membership," the statement says.

To recap, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met for the fourth time in Brussels on August 31 under the auspices of EU Council President Charles Michel to look into ways of expediting preparations for drafting a peace deal.

After the meeting, Michel said that Azerbaijan and Armenia decided to accelerate substantive work on the peace treaty governing inter-state ties between the two countries and tasked the foreign ministers to meet within a month to work on a draft text.

The parties also thoroughly discussed humanitarian matters, like demining, detainees, and the fate of missing people.

The leaders assessed progress on all issues relating to border delimitation and how to best guarantee a stable situation and agreed that the next Border Commissions meeting to be held in Brussels in November.

The parties discussed the status of negotiations on the mechanisms of unblocking transport lines.

URL: http://www.today.az/news/politics/226316.html

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