Azerbaijan Reveals Confidential Points from Peace Treaty Language
An Azerbaijani source on Thursday revealed confidential, controversial and contentious points currently under discussion between Baku and Yerevan as they attempt to iron out the final language for a peace treaty.
For weeks, Armenian government officials have been saying that the language for the majority of the peace treaty has been agreed on by both sides, but have not shed light on the specifics.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has proposed that the sides sign the agreement and discuss the remaining “unresolved” points for later discussion. While not officially rejecting that proposal, Baku has hinted that it is not prepared to take such a step.
On Thursday, Farid Shafiyev, the head of a government-funded think tank in Azerbaijan, disclosed three controversial points in the peace agreement with Armenia. He wrote on X that one of those issues concerns Azerbaijan’s demand that Armenia change its Constitution, which Baku claims contains territorial claims against Azerbaijan. The second point, according to Shafiyev, is the exclusion of “legal and diplomatic disputes” by Yerevan, and the third one is the absence of foreign forces along the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Yerevan on Thursday said that differences remain with Azerbaijan over the draft language of the peace treaty. Armenia’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday confirmed that it had received a response from Baku to Yerevan’s most recent proposals.
Deputy Foreign Minister Vahan Kostanyan told Azatutyun.am’s Armenian Service on Thursday that there were still disagreements on “one or two issues,” though he did not specify which points remained unresolved.
“The parties do not yet share a common position on these issues, and naturally, discussions with official Baku will continue,” Kostanyan told Azatutyun.
He denied that the demand for changing the Constitution is part of the draft peace treaty. However, he was vague on the other two purported points.
“Since the negotiations are ongoing at the moment, I don’t think it’s right to fully disclose what the discussions are about. But yes, as I mentioned, there are points that have not been agreed upon, and discussions will continue on them,” Kostanyan said.
Asked whether Armenia would accept the withdrawal of the EU border-monitoring mission if a peace agreement with Azerbaijan is signed, Kostanyan explained, “At the moment, since we do not have a delimited border with the Republic of Azerbaijan, and as long as there are problems, the Republic of Armenia believes that the involvement of European Union monitors on the Armenia-Azerbaijan interstate border plays an important role in terms of security and stability.”
Commenting on the issue of “legal and diplomatic disputes,” the deputy foreign minister said: “One must look at the general process and general logic. For the Republic of Armenia, there are also many important issues beyond this agreement, including humanitarian issues, which need to be addressed.”
The latest exchange of proposals between Yerevan and Baku took place on November 5. Armenia’s Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan earlier stated that the two sides were working through “one or two wordings” of the text. Mirzoyan suggested that once these issues were addressed, the treaty could be finalized and be ready for signing. He, however, did not provide specific details on the issues still under discussion.
When asked by Azatutyun.am whether the issue of withdrawing international legal claims against Azerbaijan had been addressed or was still on the table, Armenia’s Foreign Ministry effectively declined to offer a concrete answer.
“The public is properly informed about the process of normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan and Armenia’s positions, including on the articles of the peace treaty,” the ministry responded vaguely.
In response to a follow-up question about whether Azerbaijan would also withdraw its lawsuits against Armenia if that matter was part of the discussions, the ministry said: “The articles of the peace treaty will be based on the principle of reciprocity.”
