Azerbaijani FM urges Armenia to remove outstanding hindrances for finalizing normalization process

BAKU. Sept 30 (Interfax) - Baku and Yerevan have made much headway in normalizing bilateral relations through direct negotiations over the past year, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said.

"The end of armed conflict with Armenia and restoration of Azerbaijan's sovereignty and territorial integrity created substantially new environment in the South Caucasus. For the first time since decades, stability has been achieved on the ground, de-facto peace is established. By putting an end to military occupation, it is Azerbaijan that created conditions, for both parties to eventually turn the page of enmity and embark on good-neighborly relations," Bayramov said at the UN General Assembly session in New York.

Over the year, Azerbaijan and Armenia have made significant progress in the normalization process through direct bilateral negotiations, in particular with respect to drafting a bilateral agreement, delimitation and demarcation of state border, as well as elaboration of a set of confidence-building measures, Bayramov said. "Azerbaijan will continue to take this process forward [...]. Our commitment and determination remain intact to bring this process to its logical conclusion," he said.

Bayramov noted a number of factors the fulfillment of which would expedite the signing of the peace treaty between Baku and Yerevan.

"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. Armenia's negligence with respect to implementation of constitutional amendments combined with dramatic increase in military budget, acquisition of large amount of offensive weaponry from both traditional and new suppliers and attempts to maintain obsolete conflict-driven narratives and structures, derails the normalization process," he said.

Peace and neighborly relations will not be enduring and irreversible if the recognition of sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan remains in legal limbo and is contingent on domestic legal or political scenarios, Bayramov said. "'Partial peace' is not an option [...] 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 said.

The international community has a duty of encouraging the sides to establish genuine, sustainable and irreversible peace, Bayramov said. "Such a peace should outweigh any dividend that might be expected by manipulating one side against other or building dividing lines between them. Practices that brought devastations in other parts of the globe must be ceased to be projected to the South Caucasus by feeding revanchism," he said.