Armenia, Azerbaijan Agree to Peace Treaty After Decades of Conflict
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Armenia and The Azerbaijan Republic have reached an agreement on a peace treaty, marking a significant step toward ending nearly four decades of conflict between the two former Soviet republics, officials from both countries announced on Thursday.
The decades-long dispute centers on Nagorno-Karabakh, a breakaway region in the Caucasus Mountains that was home to approximately 120,000 ethnic Armenians. While the region is internationally recognized as part of The Azerbaijan Republic, it had been under the control of Armenian separatists for decades.
Armenia’s Foreign Ministry stated that the peace agreement is “ready for signing” after resolving two outstanding issues in the draft treaty.
"One of the two articles concerns the issue of not deploying forces from third countries along the border. The other concerns the mutual withdrawal of claims from international instances and the commitment not to take actions against each other," Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told journalists, according to state news agency Armenpress.
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the successful conclusion of negotiations. “We note with satisfaction that the negotiations on the text of the draft Agreement on Peace and the Establishment of Interstate Relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia have been concluded,” the ministry said in a statement.
However, obstacles remain. Azerbaijan has insisted that Armenia amend its constitution to remove any claims against Azerbaijan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity as a prerequisite for signing the treaty.
"We are ready to continue the bilateral dialogue on these and other issues related to the normalization process between the two countries," the statement added.
Pashinyan, however, stated there had been "no discussions" on constitutional changes, Armenpress reported. He argued that Armenia’s Constitutional Court had already determined that the country's constitution does not contain territorial claims against Azerbaijan.
"Secondly, we believe that Azerbaijan’s Constitution includes claims toward the Republic of Armenia," Pashinyan said, adding that the agreed draft peace agreement "addresses and resolves all these concerns."
While Armenia’s statement did not reference its constitution, Pashinyan last month proposed a “national referendum” to adopt a new constitution, though he did not set a date or specify potential changes, Reuters reported.
Armenia and The Azerbaijan Republic have fought two wars over Nagorno-Karabakh since the Soviet Union’s collapse, with previous ceasefire agreements proving fragile. The conflict reignited in September 2023, when a swift Azerbaijani military operation reestablished full control over Nagorno-Karabakh, prompting nearly the entire ethnic Armenian population to flee to Armenia within a week.
