Armenian Premier declares country prepared to sign peace agreement with Azerbaijan

(MENAFN) Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has declared that Armenia is prepared to sign a peace agreement with Azerbaijan and dissolve the OSCE Minsk Group, a long-standing mediation framework for the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. This move comes after Azerbaijan regained control of the disputed region in 2023, leading to the departure of the ethnic Armenian population and the collapse of the region’s separatist government. Following this, Azerbaijan demanded that the Minsk Group be formally disbanded as part of any peace deal.

Speaking before the Armenian parliament, Pashinyan acknowledged Azerbaijan’s position regarding the dissolution of the Minsk Group, noting that with the end of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the group no longer serves a purpose. He proposed that Armenia and Azerbaijan sign the peace agreement and dissolve the Minsk Group on the same day.

Azerbaijan has insisted that any peace deal include the disbandment of the Minsk Group and amendments to Armenia’s constitution, which it claims includes territorial assertions against Azerbaijan.

The OSCE Minsk Group, co-chaired by Russia, France, and the United States, was established in the 1990s but became largely inactive after the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war and Azerbaijan's military action in 2023. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had previously acknowledged the group’s inactivity, attributing it to the efforts of the US and France. Since then, the conflict resolution process has primarily been handled through direct discussions between the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia.

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan also confirmed that both countries recognize each other's territorial integrity based on their Soviet-era borders and referred to the peace treaty talks as a historic development. While the exact timeline for these discussions is yet to be determined, consultations are expected to begin soon.

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