Armenia sees “real chance” to establish peace with Azerbaijan soon

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan on Thursday said there was a “real chance” to establish peace with Azerbaijan in “the nearest future.”

“I think there is a real chance to establish peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the nearest future, to sign the agreement [peace treaty] and reach common ground around all issues. Of course, to what extent the chance I see could be realized is another matter. But Armenia, for its part, is doing everything for this to happen in this scenario,” Mirzoyan told reporters in parliament.

Asked whether they are also negotiating Azerbaijan’s peaceful withdrawal of its troops from parts of the sovereign territory of Armenia presently occupied by Azerbaijan, Mirzoyan said, “Certainly, there are sovereign territories of Armenia which are now under Azerbaijani control. It is around 208 square kilometers territory. We’ve numerously said that we see the return of these territories within the framework of the delimitation process.”

He denied any deadlock in the delimitation process. “The [border delimitation] commission heads are conducting discussions today. And I hope that after reaching some mutual understanding the process will continue on the ground,” Mirzoyan said.

Asked about the government’s efforts to repatriate the unlawfully held Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan, Mirzoyan said this matter, and overall humanitarian matters, are part of the big agenda.

“This is a painful issue, perhaps one of the rare issues where a constructive dialogue isn’t happening at all,” Mirzoyan said, adding that the efforts continue, albeit no success has been recorded so far.

He said that more favorable conditions for resolving humanitarian issues will be created in the event of achieving final peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan.