Armenia offers Azerbaijan a non-aggression pact

Armenia’s prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, announced on Sunday 28 January that he has proposed to Azerbaijan to sign a non-aggression pact, pending a comprehensive peace treaty between the two hostile neighbors in the Caucasus.

“We presented a proposal to Azerbaijan to sign a mutual arms control and non-aggression pact if the signing of the peace treaty is delayed.”, Mr. Pashinyan said during a speech to mark Army Day in Armenia. He also said that his country, a longtime ally of Russia and which fears Azerbaijan’s military moving against its territory, needs to review its security arrangements.

“We must review our strategic thinking in the field of security and diversify our relations (International) In this domain “declared Mr. Pashinyan. “We are ready to buy new and modern weapons, and the government has signed billions of dollars worth of arms contracts over the past few years.”he added.

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Azerbaijan denies having territorial claims against the former Soviet republic. But the two countries fought two wars in 1990 and 2020, killing thousands over the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, which was finally retaken by Baku’s forces in September. Since this complete recovery, almost the entire Armenian population of the region – more than 100,000 people – has fled to Armenia.

Russia’s loss of influence

Azerbaijan’s victory marked the end of the dispute between the two countries, but many observers remain cautious about the progress of the talks, as sources of disagreement and tension between the two countries have accumulated over thirty years. Armed incidents still occur regularly along the border.

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For several months, several rounds of negotiations by Russia, the European Union (EU) and the United States separately did not produce an outcome. The traditional arbiter in the region, Moscow, monopolized by its aggression in Ukraine, has lost its influence and the trust of its Armenian ally.

On December 7, both countries committed to taking it anyway “concrete steps” for “make normal” their links. Less than a week later, they exchanged prisoners of war, the first step toward normalizing relations. This gesture was hailed as “progress” By the EU, the United States, Turkey and Russia, the two great regional powers. President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev predicted on January 10 that “Conditions” A peace treaty was signed with Armenia “made”Assuring that he doesn’t want to “New War”.

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The world with AFP