Azerbaijan ready to normalize relations with Armenia, sign peace agreement - PM

BAKU. Nov 12 (Interfax) - Azerbaijani Prime Minister Ali Asadov has declared Baku's readiness to sign a peace agreement with Armenia that would affirm the territorial integrity of both countries within their internationally recognized borders.

"Azerbaijan is ready to sign a peace agreement with Armenia that would affirm the territorial integrity of both states within their internationally recognized borders. Azerbaijan also stands for beginning the border delimitation and demarcation process," Asadov said at a meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) on Friday.

The Russian peacekeeping efforts and the joint Russian-Turkish monitoring center "definitely serve the purpose of peace and security in the South Caucasus," he said.

Azerbaijan is committed to unblocking transport communications in the region, Asadov said. "Not just Azerbaijan and Armenia, but also other countries of the region would benefit from that. Unblocking of transport communications plays an important role in the further development of economic relations in the South Caucasus region and the entire CIS space," he said.

Baku stands for the soonest possible delimitation and demarcation of the Azerbaijani-Armenian border consistent with international law, Asadov said. "Azerbaijan has never laid claim to the territories of others, but it will not yield an inch of its land, either," he said.

The safe return of displaced persons home is a key task for Azerbaijan, Asadov said. "The government has spent $1.3 billion on reconstruction in Karabakh in 2021, and the same funding will be provided by the state budget in 2022," he said.

Minefields are a problem hindering reconstruction in the freed territories, Asadov said. "As of this date, 20,000 hectares of land have been cleared of mines. The precision of minefield maps in three areas, provided by Armenia to Azerbaijan, is less than 25%. To date, 167 citizens of Azerbaijan have hit mines, and more than 30 of them have died as a result," he said.