BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 5. The best thing for Armenia is to accept new realities, former U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan Matthew Bryza said, Trend reports.
He made the remark during a panel discussion held within the framework of the international conference "Priorities of the foreign policy of national leader Heydar Aliyev", organized by the Center for Analysis of International Relations (AIR center) and the Academy of Public Administration under the President of Azerbaijan,
"Karabakh is Azerbaijan. The country has militarily secured its territorial integrity, and although Azerbaijan is a victorious country, it wants peace, unlike Armenia. So the best thing for Armenia is to accept the new realities. I don't believe there will be a war again. But I think it is possible that Armenia will take some provocative steps to violate the peace," Bryza said.
Also during his speech, Bryza underlined the importance of opening Azerbaijan's Zangezur corridor.
Following over a month of military action to liberate its territories from Armenian occupation from late Sept. to early Nov. 2020, Azerbaijan has pushed Armenia to sign the surrender document. A joint statement on the matter was made by the Azerbaijani president, Armenia's PM, and the president of Russia.
A complete ceasefire and a cessation of all hostilities in the zone of the Karabakh conflict were introduced on Nov. 10, 2020.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, the Armenian Armed Forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.
Following the liberation of its lands, Azerbaijan from Nov. 2020 started carrying out operations on clearing its lands from mines, booby traps, and various weapons left behind by the Armenian troops.