Azerbaijan, Türkiye to discuss peace talks with Armenia

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Ceyhun Bayramov will be in Ankara today upon the invitation of Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. The two foreign ministers are expected to discuss the ongoing Azerbaijan-Armenia and Turkey-Armenia talks to ensure peace and stability in the South Caucasus.

It is noted that Azerbaijan and Armenia aim to sign a permanent agreement by the end of this year, and in parallel, Turkey aims to take concrete steps in the normalization process with Armenia.

According to the statement made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday, the agenda of Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Bayramov and Hakan Fidan includes bilateral relations and current regional and international developments.

Diplomatic sources said that within the scope of current regional developments, the developments that have recently increased diplomatic traffic in the Caucasus on the Ankara-Baku-Yerevan axis will be discussed, and the Azerbaijan-Armenia peace talks of the two foreign ministers and the Turkey-Armenia normalization processes will be reviewed.

The two ministers are also expected to discuss cooperation in various areas, particularly economy, trade and energy, within the framework of bilateral relations.

Will the Azerbaijan-Armenia agreement be signed in November?

The most important agenda item of the talks in Ankara will be the negotiations for a permanent peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

The most important reason for this is that the Türkiye-Armenia normalization process is also dependent on the Azerbaijan-Armenia agreement.

Turkey and Azerbaijan note that Yerevan should seize the opportunity and take steps towards a peace agreement in order to maintain the atmosphere of peace and stability in the Caucasus and to begin a new era of cooperation with Armenia.

The two ministers are particularly expected to renew this message in Ankara.

Following the 2020 Karabakh War, Azerbaijan and Armenia began negotiations for a permanent peace agreement that would fully determine the borders of the two countries and define the principles and foundations on which their relations will be built in the future, but the parties have not yet reached the signing stage due to deep disagreements and third-party interventions.

The foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia last met in July under the mediation of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Blinken noted that great progress had been made in the talks and that the agreement could be ready for signature in a short time.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan also said in May that the agreement could be signed in November.

The importance of November is that Azerbaijan will host the United Nations COP 29 Climate Summit from 11-22 November.

Zangezur Corridor is off the agenda for now

The latest development that has strengthened hopes that an agreement could be signed between the parties in the coming months is the decision by Baku and Yerevan to remove the article on the Zangezur Corridor, one of the most controversial issues, from the agreement text.

The Zangezur Corridor, which is of great importance especially for Azerbaijan, will be among the issues that the parties will discuss again after reaching an agreement.

Another important condition for Azerbaijan is the removal of references to Karabakh from Armenia’s constitution.

Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan also noted that Armenia needed a new constitution to define healthy relations with neighboring countries, referring to Azerbaijan and Turkey.

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Bayramov is expected to inform Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan about the ongoing talks with Armenia and the steps that can be taken next.

Ankara-Yerevan normalization process progresses

Minister Fidan is also expected to brief Bayramov on the Ankara-Yerevan normalization process, and particularly on the steps taken following the last meeting between the two countries’ special representatives.

Turkish and Armenian special representatives Serdar Kılıç and Ruben Rubenyan held the 5th normalization talks after a two-year break at the Alican-Margara Border Gate on the Turkey-Armenia border.

In the meeting held at the end of last month, the parties discussed the technical issues required for the activation of the Akyaka-Akhurik Railway Border Gate, which exists between the two countries but is not operational.

This development has symbolic importance as it shows that both sides want the borders, which have been closed since 1993, to be reopened if the normalization process is completed.

At a time when negotiations between Baku and Yerevan are progressing, Ankara’s contact with Yerevan is a remarkable development in terms of the imminent completion of regional peace agreements.

It is envisaged that the talks to be held in Ankara today will evaluate both processes and discuss how Turkey and Azerbaijan can monitor developments in coordination and take the necessary steps.