Elchin Amirbayov on peace treaty with Armenia: Only first part of process completed

In order to conclude a peace agreement, Azerbaijan must be sure that the renunciation of claims to Karabakh is not only the approach of the Armenian authorities, but also reflects the position of Armenian society as a whole, Elchin Amirbayov, the representative of the President of Azerbaijan for special assignments, said in an interview with the Brazilian publication "Folha de S.Paulo," Report informs.

According to him, the approval of the text of the peace agreement is a significant stage, "however, this is only the initial step towards a comprehensive settlement."

"I agree that the completion of negotiations on the text of the peace agreement is a very important milestone. But in essence, it [the peace process] is much broader. I would say that it is like a book with two chapters, and to say that you have read the whole book, you need to read both chapters. The first chapter is closed, since we spent more than two years agreeing on the text of the peace agreement that Azerbaijan developed and offered to Armenia. And we did everything possible to demonstrate sufficient political will and flexibility to achieve this result. But it would be wrong to think that everything has already been done and can simply be signed. The second chapter of this book is devoted to resolving the two remaining serious obstacles," the presidential representative emphasized.

Speaking about the main obstacles to signing the peace agreement, Amirbayov named the presence of territorial claims of Armenia against Azerbaijan, as well as the preservation of a number of unnecessary OSCE institutions (Minsk Group).

"I would say that it is unfair and not very honest to call these conditions new or artificial, because we have been trying to achieve this for more than two years. We believe that it is necessary to exclude from the Constitution of Armenia the clauses that contradict the letter and spirit of the peace agreement. We do not want to give even a hypothetical chance to anyone to return to this conflict in the future. And if Armenia sincerely wants to conclude a peace agreement, it needs to do everything necessary to change this part of its Constitution," he emphasized.

The representative of the President of Azerbaijan recalled that it took more than two years to agree on the text of the peace treaty.

"Now it is just lying on the sidelines, and we are waiting. The ball is in Armenia's court. They need to assure us that they have once and for all renounced their claims to Karabakh. Not only the government, but also the people of Armenia. Because it is important for us to sign this agreement not only with the government of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. If the Armenian people are not ready to renounce their illegal claims to Karabakh, then what kind of peace can we talk about?" Amirbayov added.