(Berlin) Germany on Wednesday praised the “courageous” efforts of Armenia and Azerbaijan in their talks which began in Berlin to try to resolve the conflict that has pitted them for decades over Nagorno-Karabakh.
“Today we are witnessing courageous steps taken by both countries to put the past behind them and work towards lasting peace for their peoples,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said after welcoming her counterparts Armenian Ararat Mirzoïan and Azerbaijani Jeïhoun Baïramov.
These negotiations are taking place under the aegis of Germany, until Thursday immediately, at Villa Borsig, a residence of German diplomacy on the outskirts of Berlin.
“We want you to be able to travel the path to lasting peace,” declared the German minister.
The meeting was decided during a meeting in Munich on February 17 of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ham Aliyev.
Territorial disputes pit Armenia against Azerbaijan, which fought two wars, in the 1990s and in 2020, for control of the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, finally reconquered in September 2023 by Baku’s forces.
For several months, a series of rounds of negotiations led separately by Russia, the European Union and the United States took place with the aim of a comprehensive peace treaty, with few results to date. current.
The situation remains unstable and armed incidents still occur regularly on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Since the reconquest of Nagorno-Karabakh, Yerevan suspects Baku of having other territorial aims to the detriment of Armenia, which the Azerbaijani head of state again contested on Wednesday during interviews with a German economic delegation , accusing on this occasion French and European leaders of “demonizing” his country.
Armenia believes its powerful neighbor is seeking to control Armenia’s Siounik region to connect the Azerbaijani enclave of Nakhichevan to the rest of Azerbaijan.
French President Emmanuel Macron recently spoke of a “risk of escalation” between these two former Soviet republics.
Armenia-Western rapprochement
Alliances in the Caucasus have evolved over the course of this conflict.
Armenia’s long-standing ties with Russia have weakened since Azerbaijan, its historic enemy, seized Nagorno-Karabakh in September.
Yerevan criticizes the Russian government for not intervening to stop the lightning offensive launched by Baku against this disputed territory, controlled for decades by Armenian separatists.
Azerbaijan reconquered this region, forcing some 100,000 Armenians into exile.
Furthermore, Armenia’s accession to the International Criminal Court has fueled tensions with Moscow, with this country now required to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin, the subject of an arrest warrant, if he were to appear. return to its soil.
Armenia has thus accelerated its rapprochement with Western partners in recent months, led by the United States and France, which are home to large Armenian communities.
Also at the European level, the head of EU diplomacy Josep Borrell assured that the European Union wanted to implement an “ambitious” plan to strengthen its ties with Armenia, including, among other things, discussions on liberalization in the granting of visas to travel to the EU.
But this policy risks angering Russia, which attacked Ukraine as it intensified its rapprochement with the EU.
Thousands of Russian soldiers are still present in several military bases in Armenia.
reference: www.lapresse.ca