By Reuters: The leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia are each hopeful they will safe an enduring peace settlement regardless of their variations over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, they mentioned in interviews broadcast on Tuesday.
Since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan and Armenia have fought two wars over Nagorno-Karabakh, a small mountainous enclave that’s a part of Azerbaijan however populated by about 120,000 ethnic Armenians.
After heavy combating and a Russian-brokered ceasefire, Azerbaijan in 2020 took over areas that had been managed by ethnic Armenians in and across the mountain enclave.
The two sides have since been discussing a peace deal during which they might agree on borders, settle variations over the enclave, and unfreeze relations.
READ | How a church-going American mom turned a ‘demon-seeing’ killer of her kids
“I think it is right to be hopeful,” Azeri President Ilham Aliyev advised Euronews tv in an interview carried out on July 21 within the Karabakh city of Shusha and aired on Tuesday.
“If we see a constructive approach from the Armenian side, and most importantly, if they totally set aside all aspirations to contest our territorial integrity, then we can find a peace solution very soon, maybe even by the end of the year.”
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, talking individually to Euronews in Yerevan on July 26, additionally sounded a cautiously optimistic word.
“Not only can there be but there must be peace. This is my belief, my position… But for this to happen, it’s also important for the international community to be aware of important nuances, to be clear about why there isn’t progress at a sufficient pace,” he mentioned.
HUMANITARIAN CRISIS
Pashinyan repeated his accusation that Azerbaijan was nonetheless blocking the transit of meals and medicines to Karabakh through the Lachin hall, the one highway linking Armenia to the enclave, thereby inflicting a humanitarian disaster.
Aliyev denied that Azeri forces had been blocking freedom of motion, saying greater than 2,000 Karabakh residents had moved “to Armenia and back” since Azerbaijan established a border checkpoint on the entrance to the hall in April.
READ | Habitat in danger as Ukrainians crowd river to search out respite amid conflict
“Karabakh Armenians should understand that being part of Azerbaijan society with security guarantees,… with their rights, including educational, cultural, religious, and municipal rights, they will live a normal life,” Aliyev mentioned.
Baku has rejected Yerevan’s requests for additional safety ensures for the enclave’s ethnic Armenians.
Russia, which has peacekeepers on the bottom, the United States and the European Union are all making an attempt individually to assist guarantee an enduring peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Pashinyan mentioned the 17-month-old battle in Ukraine had impacted the power not solely of Russia however of different worldwide gamers to give attention to the Karabakh concern.
READ | Another harmful TikTok viral development, specialists warn towards ‘fairy flying’ movies