Azerbaijan and Armenia to drop legal battles after signing peace treaty, deputy minister says - EXCLUSIVE

After the signing of a peace treaty between Azerbaijan and Armenia, mutual claims filed in international courts will be withdrawn, Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan, Elnur Mammadov, told Report.

Referring to Azerbaijan’s recent announcement regarding the finalization of the peace agreement text, he emphasized that progress is being made in this direction:

"Following the Patriotic War, Azerbaijan filed interstate claims against Armenia in international courts regarding 30 years of occupation, ethnic cleansing, and other international crimes. Our activities in various directions continue, and these claims are at different stages. Processes are ongoing at the European Court of Human Rights, the International Court of Justice, and the International Arbitration Court. Over the past two years, efforts have been made to agree on a treaty for the normalization of interstate relations between the two countries. Just yesterday, Minister Jeyhun Bayramov announced that 17 articles of the peace treaty have been agreed upon."

According to Mammadov, Azerbaijan expects Armenia to make constitutional amendments in the next stage to eliminate territorial claims against Azerbaijan:

"Additionally, during this period, Armenia will apply together with Azerbaijan to dissolve the OSCE Minsk Group, which was engaged in conflict resolution. As for the claims, one of the last two articles of the agreement stipulates that, upon signing the peace treaty, both parties will commit to withdrawing their mutual claims in international courts. This provision is included in the current treaty, and we must take it into account. The ball is now in Armenia’s court. We are waiting for the next steps they need to take. Currently, no meeting between the foreign ministers is planned."