Azerbaijani, Armenian top diplomats meet in Berlin for peace talks

German Foreign Minister Baerbock hails ‘courageous steps’ to put past behind, work towards ‘durable peace’

BERLIN:

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan met in Berlin on Wednesday as part of peace talks between the two countries.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who hosted the talks in Villa Borsig, thanked her counterparts for coming to Berlin, and undertaking negotiations to resolve their disputes.

“We believe that Armenia and Azerbaijan now have an opportunity to achieve an enduring peace after years of painful conflict,” she said, and underlined that Germany is committed to support the peace process, and ready to facilitate further talks to reach an agreement.

“What we are seeing now are courageous steps by both countries to put the past behind, and to work towards a durable peace for their people. These talks here are meant to continue the productive discussions that were held in the margins of the Munich Security Conference just two weeks ago,” Baerbock said.

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had decided to continue peace talks following a trilateral meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz two weeks ago on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.

Baerbock said resolving outstanding issues through diplomatic talks and peace between Baku and Yerevan would bring new opportunities both for the two countries, and the whole South Caucasus region.

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“Achieving agreement and dealing with remaining challenging issues would be in the interest of both the people of Armenia and the people are Azerbaijan,” the minister stressed.

“And it would have very positive effects beyond your countries, opening new perspectives as regards connectivity and economic opportunities, paving the way for a brighter future, and greater prosperity in the South Caucasus,” she added.

Relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

Azerbaijan liberated most of the region during the war in the fall of 2020, which ended with a Russian-brokered peace agreement, opening the door to normalization.

Baku initiated an anti-terrorism operation in Karabakh last September to establish constitutional order, after which illegal separatist forces in the region surrendered.