Azerbaijan FM proposes bilateral border talks with Armenia

AZERBAIJAN has proposed starting bilateral negotiations with Armenia to set their mutual border line, Baku announced on Wednesday.

“We propose to start bilateral talks on setting the border line with Armenia. Azerbaijan expects a positive response from Armenia,” said Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, speaking at the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organisation (BSEC).

Baku is determined to normalise ties with Yerevan on the basis of respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the inviolability of its internationally recognised borders, Mr Bayramov underlined at a video conference meeting.

He said there is no alternative but to build good neighbourly relations with Armenia to preserve long-term peace and stability in the region.

Mr Bayramov added that Azerbaijan has finished constructing border control infrastructure along its frontier with Armenia after a 44-day conflict in which it regained its state borders after nearly 30 years.

Anti-Azerbaijan rhetoric in Armenia has caused serious concern in Baku, Mr Bayramov said, adding that such rhetoric, which unites Armenia’s government and the opposition, threatens the ‘fragile normalisation process’ between the two countries.

In 1991, the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, or Upper Karabakh, internationally recognised as Azerbaijani territory, and seven adjacent regions.

On September 27, 2020, the Armenian army launched attacks on civilians and Azerbaijani forces and violated several humanitarian cease-fire agreements.