Azerbaijani president meets with Russian envoy to discuss normalization with Armenia

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev on Thursday met with Igor Khovayev, Russian envoy for normalization of Azerbaijan-Armenia ties, to discuss his country’s normalization process with Armenia and the preparation of a Baku-Yerevan peace agreement.

A statement by the Azerbaijani presidency said Aliyev and Khovayev exchanged views on "the negotiation process on the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan and the preparation of a peace treaty between the two countries, the non-fulfillment of the obligations of the Armenian side in accordance with the tripartite statement signed on November 10, 2020, (and) a detailed opinion on the last meeting held in Sochi.”

Separately, Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry accused Armenia of not abiding by the agreements written in the tripartite declaration adopted by Baku, Yerevan, and Moscow in Sochi on Oct. 31, based on reports of 350 mines discovered by the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry in the Lachin district of the Karabakh region.

“The mentioned circumstances indicate that Armenia … grossly violated Paragraph 6 of the Tripartite Declaration, and by transferring mines, Armenia misused the Lachin road for its illegal military activities. and thereby demonstrated once again that it makes provocations against Azerbaijan,” a statement by the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry read.

These activities are “a war crime,” as well as “a serious violation of international humanitarian law and the obligations undertaken by Armenia within the framework of the Tripartite Declaration,” it also said.

Relations between the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions – Lachin, Kalbajar, Agdam, Fuzuli, Jabrayil, Qubadli, and Zangilan.

In the fall of 2020, in 44 days of clashes, Baku liberated several cities, villages, and settlements in Karabakh from Armenian occupation, ending in a Moscow-brokered truce. The conflict’s peace agreement was celebrated as a triumph in Azerbaijan.​​​​​​​