By Alexander Pracht
Azerbaijan and Armenia have finalized negotiations on the text of a normalization agreement, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said today. According to Azerbaijani news agency APA.az, Bayramov stated that Armenia has accepted Azerbaijan’s proposals on the last two disputed points of the agreement.
“The next step is for Armenia to amend its constitution,” Bayramov said.
The two remaining disputed provisions were about Armenia and Azerbaijan withdrawing legal disputes against each other from international courts and removing third-country representatives from their shared border.
The only third-country representatives currently stationed at the border are the European Union’s civilian observers, who were deployed there following Azerbaijan’s incursions into Armenia’s internationally recognized territory in September 2022. They had their mandate extended last month for another two years. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan previously suggested that these observers might be withdrawn, but only from sections of the border that have been formally delimited. So far, the only such area is a 12-kilometer stretch between Armenia’s Tavush region and Azerbaijan’s Gazakh district.
Azerbaijan’s demand for amendments to Armenia’s constitution is based on a claim that its preamble, linked to the 1990 Declaration of Independence, implies territorial claims against Azerbaijan due to its reference to Nagorno-Karabakh.
Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan announced yesterday that Yerevan and Baku might abandon their ongoing legal proceedings against each other in international courts.
UPDATE: In a statement published later on Thursday, Armenia’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that the normalization deal with Azerbaijan had been finalized. “The peace agreement is ready for signing. Armenia is ready to begin consultations with Azerbaijan on the dates and place of signing the Agreement,” the ministry said. However, the statement remained silent on Azerbaijan’s persistent precondition for signing the deal, constitutional amendments in Armenia.
