Hikmat Hajiyev: New status quo in South Caucasus based on international law

The new status quo that has been formed in the South Caucasus is based on legitimacy and international law, in contrast to the previous situation, which was based on occupation, Hikmat Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan and Head of the Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration, said during a panel discussion titled "The Middle Corridor: A New Geopolitical and Economic Lifeline?" at GLOBSEC 2025.

According to Report, Hajiyev stressed that peace and stability have been restored in the South Caucasus, and Azerbaijan made significant efforts to achieve this. "Conflict and war are over. We are now working on a peace agenda with Armenia. It's crucial that a new status quo has been formed in the Caucasus — a status quo based on legitimacy and international law. The previous one, unfortunately, was based on occupation," he said.

He also added that Azerbaijan had already established ties with a broader range of countries in the region, and now Armenia should demonstrate that the passage through its territory can be economically viable. "We are still waiting for this. However, a positive aspect is that we are currently engaged in dialogue with Armenia through bilateral channels on various issues. These include a peace treaty, border delimitation, and other matters. The text of the peace treaty is already agreed upon. Nevertheless, there are still some outstanding issues that we are addressing together," Hajiyev said.