Armenian premier says peace with Azerbaijan ‘within reach’

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Thursday that peace between his country and Azerbaijan is not only possible but also "within reach."

"The key messages of my previous speeches (at the UN General Assembly) were about the deadlock in achieving peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan. But today, I want to say that peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan not only is possible, but is within reach," Pashinyan said at the assembly's 79th session in New York.

Noting that the two countries signed their first-ever bilateral document on Aug. 30 regarding an agreement on the regulation of the joint work of both countries' border delimitation commissions, he said what they have to do now is sign a peace agreement.

He said that both himself and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev have said many times that at least 80% of the draft deal has been agreed on, proposing to sign it based on the provisions already agreed upon and then continue negotiations on pending issues later.

"We are ready to do this right now," said Pashinyan, adding that many important issues still need to be addressed.

He said the articles agreed on in the draft deal contain provisions on matters such as not having territorial claims against each other and establishing diplomatic relations.

Pashinyan said that once the peace agreement between the two countries is signed, the document will then be sent to Armenia's Constitutional Court to check whether it is in compliance with the country's Constitution.

"If our Constitutional Court decides that the peace agreement with Azerbaijan is in contradiction with the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, even though our experts assure that it is not likely to happen, then we will face a specific situation where constitutional changes will be needed for the sake of achieving peace," he added.

He said Armenia is ready to allow transportation access to both Azerbaijan and Türkiye as well as other neighbors and partners, adding that Yerevan guarantees the passage of cargo, vehicles and people through its territory.

Relations between Baku and Yerevan have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Karabakh -- a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

Most of the territory was liberated by Azerbaijan during a 44-day war in the fall of 2020, which ended after a Russian-brokered peace agreement that opened the door to normalization and the demarcation of their border.

In September 2023, Azerbaijan established full sovereignty in Karabakh following an anti-terrorist operation, after which separatist forces in the region surrendered.