15 of 17 articles in draft peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed upon - FM Mirzoyan

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, in an interview with Finnish media, announced that 15 out of the 17 articles in the draft peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan have been agreed upon.

“In general, we have a border, and we know where it is. It is based on the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration, which was signed by the former Soviet republics and transformed administrative borders into state borders. Of course, the commissions of the two countries should work together on further delimitation and precise demarcation,” he stated.

Characterizing the delimitation process as a guarantee of future stability, Foreign Minister Mirzoyan said, “As far as any guarantees are possible these days, having a clearly delimited border is a very strong mechanism.”

In the context of discussions on opening communications, Minister Mirzoyan stated that Armenia and Azerbaijan could arrive at mutually acceptable solutions.

“We can facilitate the transit of Armenian goods through Azerbaijani territory and, conversely, Azerbaijani goods through Armenian territory. In the initial phase, we can resume railway transit and gradually expand it,” he said.

Regarding the third component of the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the signing of a peace agreement, Minister Mirzoyan noted: "Now, 15 out of the 17 articles of the draft peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan have been agreed upon. I believe we could have finalized and signed the agreement even before the COP29 climate summit in Baku.

Unfortunately, that did not happen, but now we are ready to do it in a short period of time. We can say this is a moment of hope. I would say we are very close. However, despite the tragic past of our two states and societies, there is an opportunity to turn the page on hostility. The past has been difficult. It is hard to understand, forget, forgive, but enough blood has been shed in our region, and now we have the opportunity to look to the future."

Regarding the internal political crisis in Armenia after the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, Minister Mirzoyan stated: "The country’s Prime Minister, the government, and the political team decided to hold early parliamentary elections. We turned to the people and asked two things: Do they support deeper democratic reforms and the peace agenda, that is, the government’s policy? We once again received the majority of votes. In the 2026 elections, we will ask that question again, although polls also show support for the government’s policy.

Currently, on the one hand, we are focused on strengthening the security, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of our country. On the other hand, we are focused on the prosperity, continued modernization, and democratization of our country. This, naturally, brings us closer to Europe.

At the same time, with all due respect for procedures and rules, perhaps it is time to act differently than in the 'business as usual' mode. This can apply to both geopolitical decisions and decisions of domestic importance. The world is changing. Perhaps it is time to make bold political decisions,” said the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Armenia.