Azerbaijan sent a proposal containing five conditions to normalize relations with Armenia, the country’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said Friday.
Bayramov, who is in Turkey to attend the Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF), told Anadolu Agency (AA) that Azerbaijan is waiting for Armenia’s response.
"This is a really nice opportunity for Azerbaijan if they sincerely want to normalize relations," he said. He noted that Armenia’s occupation of Azerbaijani territory in complete disregard of United Nations Security Council resolutions for over three decades had posed an obstacle on the way to establishing diplomatic ties.
Bayramov continued by saying that Azerbaijan’s liberation of Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020 eliminated the factor of occupation and that Baku is in favor of normalizing ties with Armenia despite the difficulties and issues of the past.
The Azerbaijani military routed the Armenian forces in 44 days of fierce fighting in the fall of 2020, which ended with a Russia-brokered peace deal that saw Azerbaijan gain control of a significant part of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Russia has deployed nearly 2,000 peacekeepers for at least five years to monitor the peace deal.
"Armenia has not responded to our offer for about a year. To show its goodwill, Azerbaijan recently made a new proposal to Armenia," Bayramov said, adding that Baku awaits Yerevan’s response.
Bayramov said the two sides would take steps in line with Armenia’s response afterward.
Azerbaijan’s one-page proposal outlines main principles in line with international relations and does not contain anything "out of the ordinary," according to Bayramov.
One of the points in the proposal includes the demarcation of the borders between the two countries, which Azerbaijan had proposed to solve, but Armenia had consistently brought preconditions to address it.
Highlighting that preconditions are unacceptable to launch the process, Bayramov said a bilateral cooperation group needs to be established and the new group needs to start work as soon as possible.
Bayramov had previously said that Azerbaijan "fully supports" the normalization of relations between neighboring Turkey and Armenia.
Following years of frozen ties, the neighboring countries of Turkey and Armenia have announced they seek to normalize relations amid efforts for regional integration and cooperation in the South Caucasus. In December, the two countries appointed special envoys to normalize relations.
The borders between the two countries have been closed for decades, and diplomatic relations have been on hold. Armenia and Turkey signed a landmark peace accord in 2009 to restore ties and open their shared border after decades, but the deal was never ratified and ties have remained tense.
Relations between Armenia and Turkey have historically been complicated. During the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict last year, Ankara supported Baku in its war that saw it liberate Azerbaijani territories from Yerevan's occupation.
