On May 25, in the Russian capital Moscow, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that there are real grounds for normalizing relations with Armenia based on mutual recognition of territorial integrity.
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| Talks between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev (left), Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan (right) and Russian President Putin in Moscow on May 24. (Source: AP) |
Armenia and Azerbaijan have been at odds with each other for the past three decades, culminating in two conflicts over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.
In recent months, both sides have expressed increasing willingness to sign a lasting peace deal, even as clashes continue to flare up.
On May 25, Azerbaijani President Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
At the meeting, Mr. Putin said that the situation in the Caucasus region, although difficult, the parties are moving towards a long-term solution.
The Russian leader also announced that next week, deputy prime ministers of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia will meet to resolve a number of outstanding issues.
Also on May 25, RIA news agency reported that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the West was trying to interfere in the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan and discredit Moscow's peacekeeping policy.
Russia has traditionally been the main mediator in the region, even as European countries have become increasingly active in facilitating talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
However, the US recently said that it has made separate proposals to Baku and Yerevan regarding some of the most pressing Armenia-Azerbaijan issues, stressing that some progress has been made in ongoing negotiations between the two countries.
In another related development, on May 24, Yerevan called on the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to order Baku to remove the checkpoint on the Lachin Corridor, the only land route that passes through Azerbaijani territory and connects Armenia with the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.
According to the ICJ, Armenia has asked the ICJ to order Azerbaijan to withdraw all personnel deployed on or along the Lachin Corridor since April 23. Yerevan also called on the ICJ to order Baku not to deploy any similar personnel on or along the corridor.
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