Erdogan says Azerbaijan, Armenia closer than ever to peace deal
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Azerbaijan and Armenia are closer than ever to signing a peace agreement
BAKU, Azerbaijan (MNTV) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Azerbaijan and Armenia are closer than ever to signing a peace agreement, describing the moment as historic for a South Caucasus region long marked by conflict.
Erdogan made the remarks while addressing the 16th Congress of Turkish Ambassadors in Ankara, according to Trend news agency.
“The South Caucasus, which has been thirsting for peace for years, is going through a historic period,” Erdogan said.
“Azerbaijan and Armenia are closer than ever to signing a peace agreement. Through dialogue with Azerbaijan, we are also advancing the normalization process with Armenia. I hope some symbolic steps will be taken early next year.”
His comments follow a series of recent diplomatic developments between Baku and Yerevan.
On Aug. 8, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint declaration in Washington following a trilateral meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump.
The declaration focused on ensuring peace between the two countries and establishing transport links between mainland Azerbaijan and its Nakhchivan exclave.
The transport initiative was dubbed the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity.”
During the same meeting, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan initialed a draft “Agreement on the establishment of peace and interstate relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia.”
The two ministers also signed a joint appeal to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, calling for the closure of the OSCE Minsk process, the office of the OSCE chairperson-in-office’s personal representative on the conflict, and the High-Level Planning Group.
The Minsk process was launched in the 1990s to mediate the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh but has been widely viewed by Baku as ineffective in recent years.
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