Armenia and Azerbaijan have managed to surprise the world with a positive agenda, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan and Head of the Foreign Policy Department of the Presidential Administration, Hikmet Hajiyev said in an interview with BBC World, Report informs.
“The military confrontation is over. Indeed, Azerbaijan restored its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and Azerbaijan ended the 30-year-long military occupation of its territories. Azerbaijan declared after the end of the 44-day war in 2020 that it is ready to sign a peace treaty with Armenia. For that reason, Azerbaijan also suggested the five fundamental principles and text of the peace treaty. Currently, there is a diplomatic engagement between the parties - Armenia and Azerbaijan. These are direct talks,” he stressed.
“On December 7, the two countries made a joint statement expressing their intention to advance the peace agenda and implement confidence-building measures. The last three months could be considered as the most calm and peaceful period in the history of the Armenia-Azerbaijan relationship since the independence of the two countries. There is no war, no atrocities, and no confrontation, with soldiers returning to their barracks. Relative peace has been ensured on the ground. Now is the time to transform it into a long-lasting peace, including the signing of a peace treaty,” the assistant to the president said.
“Armenia, throughout the years of occupation, conducted notorious ethnic cleansing against Azerbaijanis. One million Azerbaijanis are still refugees and IDPs. Azerbaijan is in the process of returning one million refugees and IDPs to their homes, and they have been deprived of this right for more than 30 years. However, in the meantime, there have been Armenians who decided to leave Karabakh, regardless of the fact that we were calling for them to stay. Azerbaijan ensures all the possibilities, including security and safety, for their return. For that reason, we have established a particular electronic portal for the application of citizenship. First, we should identify that there should be a proper legal framework for Armenians to return. One of the major preconditions here is accepting Azerbaijani citizenship and living under Azerbaijani laws and regulations. For that reason, and we made it clear, on a case-by-case basis, we are ready to consider and process all appropriate legal applications,” he said.