Azerbaijani foreign minister says ‘partial peace’ with Armenia not an option

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said “partial peace” with Armenia is not an option, as the neighboring countries continue to hold peace talks to normalize relations.

Addressing the 79th session of the UN General Assembly on Saturday, Bayramov said such a peace is not an option “after so much pain and sufferings inflicted by irredentism and territorial claims against neighbors.”

“Establishment of peace and good-neighborly relations cannot be sustainable and irreversible if recognition of sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan remains in legal limbo, and is contingent on domestic legal or political scenarios,” Bayramov said.

He said Azerbaijan and Armenia have made significant progress in the normalization process, and Baku will continue to act “with a strong sense of responsibility for not only its national security and well-being, but also for ensuring a better future for the entire region.”

“For the finalization of the normalization process, Armenia has yet to legally abandon territorial claims against Azerbaijan once and for all through implementing constitutional amendments,” Bayramov said, adding that Yerevan’s recent actions, including its acquisition of large amounts of weaponry, harms the peace process.

“At this critical moment Azerbaijan calls for expeditious steps to address remaining impediments for finalization of the normalization process with full sense of responsibility,” he added.

The minister also called on the international community to encourage both sides to establish a “genuine, sustainable and irreversible peace.”

“Practices that brought devastations in other parts of the globe must be ceased to be projected to the South Caucasus by feeding revanchism,” he added.

Relations between Baku and Yerevan have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Karabakh -- a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

Most of the territory was liberated by Azerbaijan during a 44-day war in the fall of 2020, which ended after a Russian-brokered peace agreement that opened the door to normalization and the demarcation of their border.

In September 2023, Azerbaijan established full sovereignty in Karabakh following an "anti-terrorist operation" after which separatist forces in the region surrendered.