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.
