On November 1, Armenia and Azerbaijan exchanged notifications confirming the completion of the internal procedures necessary to implement the provisions for their commissions on the delimitation and demarcation of the common state border. The document marks the first directly negotiated bilateral agreement between the two countries, heralding normalization of relations and peace.
A day earlier, on October 31, Armenia's foreign minister addressed parliament, expressing "cautious optimism" that Armenia and Azerbaijan were close to finalizing work on a comprehensive peace agreement. He pointed out that only “one or two points left“ should be resolved for a fully negotiated contract in the near future. On the same day, the foreign minister of Azerbaijan confirmed the significant progress in the peace process.
Progress was indeed made, with both sides reaching consensus on most points of the peace agreement and postponing certain issues, such as the Zangezur Corridor, for separate discussions at a later stage. Importantly, both Armenia and Azerbaijan now favor direct bilateral negotiations as the most effective approach.
Despite recent optimism that peace is near, fundamental issues remain on the agenda. Armenia's constitutional territorial claims remain the main obstacle to the finalization of the peace agreement. Baku considers the Declaration of Independence of Armenia, mentioned in the preamble of the Armenian constitution, as an obstacle to the signing of a peace treaty and emphasizes that it implies territorial claims against Azerbaijan due to the mention of the unification of Armenia and the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan is pushing for a constitutional amendment to remove any ambiguity and ensure an irreversible peace agreement.
For his part, the Prime Minister of Armenia recently expressed concern about Azerbaijan's constitution. According to him, the constitution indirectly mentions the Declaration of Independence of the First Azerbaijan Republic, adopted on May 28, 1918, and this historical document states that the First Azerbaijan Republic includes Eastern and Southern Transcaucasia.
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman responded to these accusations by calling them a futile attempt to mislead the international community. He clarified that neither the 1991 Act of Independence nor the 1918 Declaration of Independence contained any territorial claims to neighboring countries, instead emphasizing respect for common norms, principles and good neighborly relations. The spokesman pointed out that Armenia's 1990 Declaration of Independence, which is enshrined in its constitution, calls for the “unification of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh”. This provision underlies several Armenian laws, suggesting that Armenia has never recognized Nagorno-Karabakh as an integral part of Azerbaijan. Therefore, the spokesman argued, Armenia's recognition of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity has no legal basis unless Armenia amends its constitution and repeals related legal and political acts. The press secretary of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs added that Azerbaijan has no territorial claims to Armenia.
After months of stalled negotiations, the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia appears to be gaining momentum. However, it remains uncertain whether the remaining issues can be resolved soon enough to ensure lasting peace in this strategically important region.