15 articles agreed upon, two remaining may take time – FM on Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty

If there were the necessary political will, the process of completing a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan would take very little time, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said during the panel discussion titled "Together for Peace and Democracy" in Yerevan.

Mirzoyan informed attendees that Armenia is working to normalize relations with its immediate neighbors—Turkey and Azerbaijan—and presented the efforts being carried out in these two directions.

Addressing the progress on the peace treaty with Azerbaijan, the Foreign Minister stated that Armenia has worked extensively with Azerbaijan to finalize an agreed text for the peace treaty.

"At the moment, we have 15 agreed articles out of 17 under discussion. On the one hand, we can say that most of the work is done; we only have two articles left to agree upon. On the other hand, of course, reaching agreement on these articles may still take a long time. The solution is clear—the necessary demonstration of political will by both countries. If there were the necessary political will, I assure you it would take us a very short time to complete the text," said Mirzoyan.

Mirzoyan assured that Armenia has the necessary political will. He noted that Prime Minister Pashinyan had repeatedly expressed the Republic of Armenia's readiness to finalize the text of the agreement and sign it.

“Unfortunately, I cannot say that we see the same constructive approach and readiness from our neighbors. However, this is a process that has no alternative. Even the difficulties we encounter during the negotiations, and even the lack of constructiveness from our neighbors, cannot discourage us,” said Mirzoyan.

The Foreign Minister emphasized that democracy, freedom, and peace simply have no alternative. He informed the delegations of the Nordic-Baltic Eight (NB8) countries that the Republic of Armenia is a partner deeply committed to democracy and peace. He assured them that Armenia has not stopped, and will not stop, striving to create a peaceful and democratic haven in the South Caucasus.