Armenia and Azerbaijan remain at odds over critical elements of a proposed bilateral peace agreement, as confirmed by official statements from Yerevan following recent negotiations in Kazakhstan. The two-day talks in Almaty concluded without a significant breakthrough, with both parties acknowledging the need to continue discussions on unresolved matters.
Although the specific points of contention were not disclosed in the statement issued by the Armenian Foreign Ministry, it is evident that issues such as recognition of borders and the establishment of an extraterritorial corridor linking Azerbaijan to its Nakhichevan exclave through Armenian territory are still sources of disagreement. Azerbaijan’s insistence on constitutional changes in Armenia adds another layer of complexity to the peace process, with President Ilham Aliyev regarding such amendments as a prerequisite for signing any agreement.
These negotiations took place against the backdrop of ongoing protests in Yerevan, triggered by Prime Minister Nikol Pashiniyan’s decision to cede certain border areas to Azerbaijan as part of what he presented as the commencement of border demarcation between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Despite this development, which Aliyev hailed as another triumph for Azerbaijan, the overall peace negotiations have yet to yield substantial progress.
