Merz says peace, security and stability in the South Caucasus are essential

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said that peace, security and stability in the South Caucasus are essential.

According to the Azerbaijani APA news agency, Merz made the remarks during a joint press conference in Berlin with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

Merz said Germany and the European Union remain fully committed to promoting stability in the geopolitically important region.

He also congratulated Aliyev on the initialling of the peace agreement with Armenia.

“The agreement has been initialled by Azerbaijan and Armenia. This historic agreement offers a new opportunity to finally overcome the long-standing conflict,” the German chancellor said.

On August 8, 2025, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a declaration on the normalisation of relations between Yerevan and Baku in Washington with the mediation of U.S. President Donald Trump.

At the same time, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov initialled the 17-article peace agreement on the normalisation of relations and the establishment of interstate relations between the two countries.