The Armenian authorities have received the proposal of the Government of Azerbaijan on a draft peace agreement between the parties within the framework of the third stage of the negotiation process.
Chairman of the Foreign Committee of the Armenian Parliament Eduard Aghajanyan noted that the Armenian side «has received the Azeri proposals, which are basically the response to those submitted earlier by Armenia.»
«This means that we can say that we are already facing the third round of proposals, which are the ones that are being dealt with now,» he said, according to information from the Armenpress news agency.
Asked about the possibility that the foreign ministers of the two countries will meet before the end of the year, the also deputy has pointed out that there is a possibility. «We cannot rule it out,» he said.
On Monday, Turkey’s Defense Minister Hulusi Akar urged Armenia to «respond to the calls» made by Ankara and Baku to establish peace. During a visit to the Azeri capital, the minister met with President Ilham Aliyev, with whom he discussed the importance of maintaining contacts at the highest level and continuing to fight for «a just cause.»
Akar has insisted that Armenia «must understand the situation and do whatever is necessary in the face of the peace proposal presented by Turkey and Azerbaijan.» «The whole world, especially Armenia, must see the importance of this for the region,» he asserted, according to reports of the ‘Daily Sabah’ daily.
For his part, Aliyev said that both Akar and his delegation have been of great help in developing friendly relations and acknowledged a strengthening of ties between the parties.
Both have thus overseen the start of a series of joint exercises near the Iranian border as tensions rise in the area. The situation has worsened in the wake of the open war between Armenia and Azerbaijan two years ago.
Azerbaijan then relied on Israeli weaponry and Turkish drones and took control of part of the territory of the disputed area of Nagorno Karabakh. The fighting lasted less than two months but resulted in thousands of military deaths until it ended in November 2020, when the sides signed a ceasefire.
Since then, there have been clashes in the border areas and the two countries have accused each other of violating the truce.
