BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 1. Today we have a real opportunity to finally put an end to the confrontation between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Elchin Amirbayov, Assistant to the First-Vice President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, stated in an interview with the Polish TV, Trend reports.
"In 1992, a part of Azerbaijan fell under Armenian occupation, and no one reacted to this injustice. Perhaps if international organizations had responded in the early 1990s immediately after the Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan, and if this reaction had been noticeable, the scale and consequences of this tragic conflict would have been different. And other similar conflicts in the world would not have erupted, including those neighboring us. However, I want to emphasize that today we have a real opportunity to put an end to this long-standing conflict," he said.
Amirbayov stressed that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan declares Armenia's full readiness to recognize Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan.
"After the cessation of the negotiation process by Armenia since December last year, the negotiations were resumed in May 2023. The Armenian side probably understands that it is difficult to achieve peace without negotiations with Azerbaijan. We have already had several new meetings, and some progress has been made. We are confident that the next rounds will allow us to reduce the disagreements between us," he noted.
Assistant to the First Vice-President also pointed out that Armenian citizens themselves start to understand that without peace with Azerbaijan, their country cannot achieve full economic development.
"It is necessary to think pragmatically. The end of the conflict will lead to the opening of borders, as well as new economic and other opportunities for the entire region. In 30 years, Armenia has not become a more economically successful state. They see the state of their economy and the fact that they cannot develop, and the reason is that for 30 years they have been focused on occupying a part of our territory. We offer Armenia peace, and, in our view, it is a win-win situation for all parties. We want a lasting peace that will encompass the entire South Caucasus. We do not want our countries to see each other as enemies. We want them to consider themselves at least neighbors, and perhaps even friends," said Elchin Amirbayov.