BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 17. A de facto peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan exists.
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov made this statement during a press conference following his meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow.
“The 44-day Patriotic War of the Azerbaijani people has created new realities and a new security framework in the South Caucasus. This security framework is based on the supremacy of international law and, I would especially like to emphasize, the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the inviolability of internationally recognized borders. Recent historical developments that have taken place in the context of normalization between Armenia and Azerbaijan, including the initialing of a draft peace agreement, create a unique opportunity for the long-term establishment of peace, security, and prosperity in our region,” he said.
Bayramov noted that in the course of the discussion, he briefed Lavrov on the recovery efforts in the liberated territories, the processes of reconstruction and construction, the return of former internally displaced persons to the liberated territories, as well as developments related to the current stage of the normalization process between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
“We can say with confidence that a de facto peace exists today between Armenia and Azerbaijan. In turn, the positive initiatives, the peace initiatives from the Azerbaijani side that we are implementing, including confidence-building measures, have significantly accelerated and made a major positive contribution to the normalization process between Azerbaijan and Armenia. We are convinced that fulfilling the remaining tasks of the peace process will create the necessary conditions for a long-term, stable, and prosperous region in which trust will prevail,” he said.
