BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 23. Azerbaijan and Armenia potentially can reach a peace agreement even before the end of 2023, Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov said, Trend reports.
He noted that there is certain progress in the peace talks and that Baku strives to make a deal.
"Why did it take the prime minister of Armenia two and a half years (since the end of the 2020 second Karabakh war) to state that he actually recognized the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan?" the foreign minister also said.
According to Bayramov, the peace agreement is quite achievable if Armenia is ready to take certain steps.
"If there is a desire not only to make statements, but also some practical steps, then it's potentially possible to agree even before the end of the year, but if there is no real readiness, then it may be later," he added.
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, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan liberated its territories from Armenian occupation as a result of the 2020 second Karabakh war, which ended on November 10, 2020, with the signing of a trilateral statement between Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russian leaders, followed by trilateral agreements achieved at the highest level on January 11 and November 26, 2021 and October 31, 2022, designed to ensure the comprehensive normalization of Azerbaijani-Armenian relations.
Within the normalization process, Azerbaijan transferred to Armenia proposals on mutual recognition of territorial integrity, renunciation of future territorial claims, demarcation of the border, and the signing of a peace agreement.