Azerbaijan and Armenia have decided to remove a divisive clause on transportation links from a peace draft to expedite the process, according to a top Azerbaijani official.
Elchin Amirbayov, Baku's special envoy for special assignments, told Prague-based Radio Free Europe that the decision to remove the paragraph from the draft deal was made to accelerate the signing of a peace agreement.
According to the news website, Amirbayov added that once the peace deal is signed, the two sides could continue talks to find an acceptable formula for a link between Azerbaijan and its autonomous exclave, Nakhchivan.
Armenia's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Ani Badalyan, also confirmed the decision, saying the two sides agreed with mutual consent.
Badalyan went on to say that the opening of such links remains an important part of Armenia's vision and agenda for peace and economic development.
The issue of opening transport links in the region, including the Zangezur corridor, a land route connecting Azerbaijan to the Nakhchivan exclave, has been a contentious issue between Baku and Yerevan in the ongoing peace talks.
Baku argues that Azerbaijani citizens and cargo traveling to Nakhchivan via Armenia should not be subject to any controls, while Yerevan's position is that passages on that route should be in accordance with its own laws.
Azerbaijan and Armenia have been working to sign a peace treaty since last September, when Baku recaptured the mountainous enclave of Karabakh in a one-day offensive.
The sides fought two wars – in the 1990s and 2020 – over the control of Karabakh, which had been occupied by Armenians but was traditionally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.
