Armenia deserves credit, Azerbaijan should seize historic opportunity to end conflict - MEPs

A group of MEPs has welcomed the successful conclusion of negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan on the full text of the draft Agreement on Peace and Establishment of Interstate Relations, according to the communiqué posted on the official website of the European Parliament.

"The government of Armenia deserves credit for this significant development, following its announcement that it accepts Azerbaijan's proposals on the last two unresolved articles and its declaration of readiness to sign the agreement as soon as possible. We trust that the Azerbaijani leadership will seize this historic occasion to end decades of conflict and build a prosperous South Caucasus by signing and implementing the Peace Agreement as concluded in the negotiations.

We also encourage further progress in the border delimitation process, and on opening the regional communications on the basis of sovereignty and jurisdiction of either country, reciprocity and equality, as a key measure to unblock regional development, enhance connectivity and foster sustainable peace and prosperity, as well as facilitate reconciliation among communities based on increased people-to-people contacts.

In the same spirit, we also trust that the government of Türkiye will seize the opportunity to support the current positive developments in the region and reciprocate Armenia's readiness to open the Armenian-Turkish border for the benefit of its own citizens and the entire South Caucasus," reads the statement.

The joint statement was made by the Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, MEP David McALLister; the Chair of the Delegation to the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly, MEP Sergey Lagodinsky; the Chair of the Delegation for relations with the South Caucasus, MEP Nils Ušakovs; the European Parliament's Standing Rapporteur on Armenia, MEP Miriam Lexmann; the European Parliament's Standing Rapporteur on Azerbaijan, MEP Dan Barna.