‘Political will needed to reach the finish line,’ EU Special Representative on Armenia-Azerbaijan peace talks

YEREVAN, AUGUST 5, ARMENPRESS. The signing of a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan requires political will, according to Toivo Klaar, the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia.

“As far as I know, most of the draft peace treaty has already been agreed upon. It seems to me that the only thing missing is the political will needed to reach the finish line,” Klaar said in an interview with JAMnews when asked whether Yerevan and Baku could sign a peace deal soon.

“We have been encouraged by the latest intensive exchanges of drafts and the recent trilateral meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan with U.S. Secretary of State Blinken in Washington DC on 10 July 2024. We firmly believe that achieving a final agreement on the remaining issues and wording is within reach. A peace treaty and its subsequent implementation would fundamentally change the situation in the region. I believe the leaders also share this view and will undertake all the efforts needed to reach a final agreement on the matter. However, the fact that they did not meet during the recent European Political Community summit in the UK it is also a reminder how fragile the process still is. It does not show lack of commitment by either side, but illustrates well the sensitivities associated not only with the substance, but also with the process of the normalisation deliberations,” the EU Special Representative said.

Asked on the situation following the signing of a possible peace treaty, he said “This would be a great achievement.” “But agreements of course need to be implemented and so a peace agreement will only be a waypoint towards normalisation. In the end, peace is about people, and normalisation of relations must mean normalisation at the societal level. Much of the peace process has been quite top-down, and what is ultimately needed is a genuine opening, including through cross border trade and connectivity of the region, and making peace and stability feel normal for the populations on both sides. But for this to be possible, peace building efforts need to include confidence building and reconciliation between people to enable them to make peace with each other. I have therefore always put a strong focus in my work on confidence building, dialogue and reconciliation efforts around the official negotiation processes, and the EU has supported such activities for many years already, to promote an environment conducive for real peace. The international community will need to remain engaged both politically and financially, also after the signature of a peace agreement. But the onus, as now, will remain on the leaderships in Yerevan and Baku to not stop half way, but to continue all the way towards a full normalisation of relations, not only between governments, but also between peoples,” Klaar added.