Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev met with Igor Khovayev, Russia’s envoy for the normalization of Azerbaijan-Armenia relations, on Thursday to discuss his country’s efforts on the normalization process and the creation of a peace deal between Baku and Yerevan.
According to a statement released by the Azerbaijani Presidency, Aliyev and Khovayev exchanged views on "the negotiation process on the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan and the preparation of a peace treaty between the two countries, the Armenian side’s failure to fulfill its obligations under the tripartite statement signed on Nov. 10, 2020, and a detailed opinion on the last meeting held in Sochi."
Separately, Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry accused Armenia of not abiding by the agreements written in the tripartite declaration adopted by Baku, Yerevan and Moscow in Sochi on Oct. 31, based on reports of 350 mines discovered by the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry in the Lachin district of the Karabakh region.
"The mentioned circumstances indicate that Armenia ... grossly violated Paragraph 6 of the Tripartite Declaration, and by transferring mines, Armenia misused the Lachin road for its illegal military activities and thereby demonstrated once again that it makes provocations against Azerbaijan," a statement by the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry read.
These activities are "a war crime," as well as "a serious violation of international humanitarian law and the obligations undertaken by Armenia within the framework of the Tripartite Declaration," it also said.
Relations between the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions – Lachin, Kalbajar, Agdam, Fuzuli, Jabrayil, Qubadli and Zangilan.
In September, at least 286 people were killed on both sides before a U.S.-brokered truce ended the worst clashes since 2020 when Armenian attacks escalated into an all-out war.
It claimed over 6,500 lives in six weeks before a Russian-brokered cease-fire saw Armenia cede swathes of territory it had illegally occupied for decades.
The cease-fire is seen as a victory for Azerbaijan and a defeat for Armenia, whose armed forces withdrew in line with the agreement.
Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders agreed in October to not use force and stick to earlier agreements that sought to end the fighting and resolve their dispute over the Karabakh territory.
However, the cease-fire has been broken several times since then.
In early November of this year, Baku and Yerevan traded accusations of provoking a shootout along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border in what was dubbed the worst fighting between the two since the 2020 war.
Hours later, the sides met for U.S.-mediated peace talks in Washington on Nov. 7 and agreed to expedite negotiations and continue to engage in direct dialogue and diplomacy.
As a longtime mediator, the Kremlin also urged both parties to refrain from actions that could lead to an escalation of tensions.
Aliyev and Russian President Vladimir Putin this week discussed over the phone the practicalities of implementing the Sochi deal and underscored the importance of continuing work in a trilateral format on ensuring security on the troubled border and restoring transport links in the region.