Armenia in September agreed to work with Russian proposals to establish ties with Azerbaijan: Premier

By Ahmet Gencturk

ANKARA (AA) – Armenia’s premier on Friday said that the country agreed in September to work with Russian proposals to establish relations with longtime rival Azerbaijan.

“In early September, Armenia agreed to work on the basis of the main principles and parameters on establishing interstate relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan that were presented by the Russian Federation and is ready to confirm it in Sochi. We hope that Russia will retain its proposals,” Nikol Pashinyan tweeted.

On Wednesday, Pashinyan said that Yerevan intends to sign a peace deal with Azerbaijan by the end of the year.

"Honestly, I want it to be signed before the end of this year. How realistic is this? I will answer this question this way: The government and I will do everything to make it realistic," Pashinyan said in an address to the Armenian parliament.

Relations between the two former Soviet republics have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.

In fall 2020, in 44 days of clashes, Baku liberated several cities, villages, and settlements from Armenian occupation, ending in a Moscow-brokered truce. The peace agreement is celebrated as a triumph in Azerbaijan.