Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Ceyhun Bayramov said that Armenia found acceptable the five basic principles for the normalization of relations between the two countries previously proposed by Baku.
"The important point is that Armenia has voiced the opinion that the five principles [ for normalization of relations] proposed by Azerbaijan are also acceptable to Armenia," the foreign minister said Wednesday in a conversation with reporters, his words were cited by Azerbaijan's APA news agency.
Bayramov stressed that during the last year, appeals to Armenia to normalize relations between the two countries were heard from the Azerbaijani side at the highest level. "As another step, Azerbaijan offered five basic principles to the opposite side in February of this year," the Azerbaijani minister noted. He added that these principles are based on international law.
According to Bayramov, the normalization process takes time. He emphasized that the April 11 phone conversation with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, during which they discussed the creation of working groups on delimitation of the state border and preparation of a peace agreement between the two countries, was "professional and constructive".
On March 14, Leyla Abdullayeva, the head of the press service of the Azerbaijani MFA, said that Baku had handed over to Yerevan proposals containing five basic principles for normalizing relations between the two countries. They include mutual recognition of each other's sovereignty, territorial integrity, inviolability of borders and political independence, mutual confirmation of the absence of territorial claims against each other and the obligation not to present such claims in the future, rejection of threats of force. Proposals also include delimitation and demarcation of borders and establishment of diplomatic relations, opening of transport and other communications, and cooperation in other areas of mutual interest.
On April 6, a meeting between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was held in Brussels, mediated by European Council President Charles Michel. As a result, the two leaders instructed their foreign ministers to begin preparations for negotiations on a peace agreement.
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Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS