Armenia and Azerbaijan on Monday vowed to work together to resolve the decades-long Nagorno-Karabakh conflict under Russian mediation. The two countries agreed to “strictly observe” all related agreements going forward.
A joint statement released after a trilateral meeting between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi said Yerevan and Baku plan to reach a “comprehensive settlement” on Nagorno-Karabakh. They promised to usher in an era of “peace, stability, security and sustainable economic development in the South Caucasus.”
“We agreed to make additional efforts towards the urgent solution of the remaining issues, including those of humanitarian nature,” the leaders said. The arch-rivals also “agreed to refrain from the use of force or the threat of its use” and “discuss and resolve all problematic issues solely on the basis of mutual recognition of sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of borders.”
В Сочи состоялась встреча премьер-министра Республики Армения Никола Пашиняна и президента Российской Федерации Владимира Путина. https://t.co/70nbyKzDQ9 pic.twitter.com/Hl4Ot3Ij9e
— Government of Armenia (@armgov) October 31, 2022
The statement also noted that Armenia and Azerbaijan are “actively preparing” to sign a “sustainable and long term” peace treaty and reached a deal to continue pursuing “mutually acceptable solutions.” Furthermore, the release stated that Russia has promised “to provide every possible assistance” for the two countries to normalise ties.
In a separate statement, Russian President Putin mentioned that the meeting “created a very good atmosphere for possible future agreements on certain fundamental issues.” He reaffirmed Moscow’s commitment to bringing peace in the South Caucasus and said Monday’s meeting creates a basis for a final deal on the issue.
Prior to the trilateral meeting, Putin held separate discussions with Aliyev and Pashinyan. Aliyev asked Putin to help Azerbaijan and Armenia reach a comprehensive peace treaty ending the Nagorno-Karabakh war. However, Aliyev noted that the conflict was resolved after Azerbaijan won the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, urging Russia to convince Armenia to accept Azerbaijan’s demands.
“Karabakh #conflict is already history, it was resolved two years ago. But the issue of #normalisation of relations between #Armenia and #Azerbaijan requires serious steps” said President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev to President of Russia Vladimir Putin at today’s Sochi meeting. pic.twitter.com/YFkhiXtL2C
— Huseyn Huseynov (@HJHuseyn) October 31, 2022
Meanwhile, Pashinyan told Putin that while he supports a peace treaty, he wants Azerbaijan to withdraw all troops from the “zone of responsibility of Russian peacekeepers.” Aliyev also called on Russia to pressure Azerbaijan to end its aggression. Furthermore, he expressed Armenia’s commitment to unblocking regional transportation and communications linkages.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have been fighting over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh since their independence in 1991 from the erstwhile Soviet Union. Even though the region has been internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, it remained under Armenian control till 2020.
In September of that year, Azerbaijan launched an offensive to capture Nagorno-Karabakh from Armenia. The 44-day war ended with Azerbaijan taking control of part of the region and declaring victory. The conflict resulted in over 6,000 military casualties from Armenia and Azerbaijan, and thousands of civilian deaths. Russia mediated a ceasefire agreement between them and sent thousands of peacekeepers to monitor the situation.
— Ilham Aliyev (@presidentaz) October 25, 2022
However, the ceasefire deal has failed to prevent occasional skirmishes from erupting. The latest round of violence erupted on 12 September and has led to an estimated 221 deaths, with 150 from Armenia and 71 from Azerbaijan. Yerevan and Baku accuse each other of violating the ceasefire by sending troops into their respective territories.
Western efforts to mediate the conflict have largely failed. Aliyev and Pashinyan have met three times this year in Europe under Western mediation but have failed to resolve their differences. Russia has criticised Western efforts in this respect and insisted they are destined to fail. Russia has argued that only it can bring about a comprehensive settlement of the dispute owing to Moscow’s years of experience in the region.