Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said on Thursday that it is possible to reach a peace agreement with Armenia, especially since the latter recognized the disputed Karabakh region as part of Azerbaijan.
Aliyev stressed that there are signs of normalization of relations between the two countries on the basis of recognition of their respective territorial integrity.
In return, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that Yerevan is ready to open all transport and economic routes in the Karabakh region, and is ready to open regional contacts.
Aliyev and Pashinyan are meeting today in Moscow at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin with the aim of reaching an agreement on the dispute over the region.
On Monday, Pashinyan expressed his country's readiness to recognize the Nagorno-Karabakh region as part of Azerbaijan, if the latter guarantees the security of the ethnic Armenian population, according to the Russian news agency TASS.
The Armenian prime minister added that Azerbaijan has an area of 86,600 square kilometers, including Karabakh, where the majority of Armenians live.
The Armenian official added – during a press conference in Russia – "If we reach an understanding, Armenia will recognize the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan within its specified borders," provided that the latter recognizes the territorial integrity of Armenia "within the limits of 29 thousand and 800 square kilometers."
Pashinyan expressed his country's hope to reach an understanding with its neighbor in the near future on the text of a peace agreement between them, and then sign it.
Pashinyan met with Aliyev in the Belgian capital on 14 of this month, following mediation by European Council President Charles Michel, and the two sides agreed to respect their territorial integrity and sovereignty in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also met on May 19 in Moscow with his Azerbaijani counterparts Jeyhun Bayramov and Armenian Ararat Mirzoyan to discuss a peace agreement that would resolve outstanding issues between Baku and Yerevan.
Lavrov said during the meeting that "it is necessary to stabilize the situation in the Karabakh region and on the border, solve humanitarian problems, remove barriers to the economy and transport, and agree on the text of the peace agreement that you are working on."
Karabakh has been the source of conflict between the two neighbours since the early years following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
In 2020, Azerbaijan took control of areas previously controlled by Armenia in the region following a military operation, and since then Baku has periodically closed the only road linking Karabakh to Armenia. On November 10, 2020, the two countries reached a ceasefire agreement under which Baku would retake provinces previously controlled by Yerevan in the region.