BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 3. Azerbaijan and Armenia must immediately resume peace talks, Representative of the President of Azerbaijan for Special Assignments Elchin Amirbayov said, answering questions from Michael Doran, director of the Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East of the Hudson Institute, and Luke Coffey, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, Trend reports.
"We must immediately resume peace negotiations, discussions on the issue of border delimitation and, of course, we must discuss the restoration of communications. These are the three main directions of the peace process and they have great prospects," he said.
Elchin Amirbayov noted that the elimination of the separatist regime in Karabakh has removed the main obstacle to sustainable peace in the region.
He emphasized that Azerbaijan has eliminated the factor of the illegal presence of armed formations of the Armenian Armed Forces on its sovereign territory.
He noted that Azerbaijan is now conducting an active dialogue with the Armenian residents of the Karabakh region on reintegration, covering various areas.
In order to ensure the provisions of the Trilateral Statement [signed by Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russian leaders following the 2020 second Karabakh war], suppression of large-scale provocations in Azerbaijan's Karabakh economic region, disarmament, and withdrawal of Armenian armed forces formations from the territories of Azerbaijan, localized anti-terrorist activities were carried out in the region.
Taking into account the appeal of the representatives of the Armenian population of Karabakh through the Russian peacekeeping contingent [temporarily stationed in Azerbaijan under the trilateral statement], an agreement was reached on September 20, 2023, at 13:00 (GMT+4) to cease anti-terrorist activities of a local nature under the following conditions: the formations of the armed forces of Armenia, Armenian illegal armed formations located in Azerbaijan's Karabakh region, lay down their weapons, leave their combat positions and military posts, and completely disarm; the formations of the armed forces of Armenia leave the territory of Azerbaijan; Armenian illegal armed groups are dissolved.