Kazakh president welcomes agreement on Azerbaijan, Armenia talks in Almaty

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Wednesday welcomed Azerbaijan and Armenia's agreement to hold talks at the level of foreign ministers in the city of Almaty, his office said in a statement.

Tokayev said the event is symbolic as the Alma-Ata Declaration was also signed in the city in December 1991, formally establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

"The upcoming meeting will serve the practical implementation of the Azerbaijani-Armenian agreements and will contribute to the speedy establishment of a strong and long-term peace in the South Caucasus," he added.

Kazakh Foreign Ministry spokesman Aybek Smadiyarov told Russian state news agency TASS on Tuesday that both Yerevan and Baku confirmed their participation to the meeting, the date of which will be announced later.

Relations between Baku and Yerevan have remained 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.

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