Armenian and Azerbaijani authorities made a dramatic statement Thursday that they agreed on the language of the peace deal, creating a monumental advance toward closing virtually four decades of warfare between these two countries in the South Caucasus region.
The protracted war began in the late 1980s when Nagorno-Karabakh, a region within Azerbaijan dominated by ethnic Armenians, attempted secession with the assistance of Armenia. This was succeeded by several wars and massive expulsions between the two, escalating enmity.
Armenia’s Foreign Ministry has confirmed a peace agreement draft completed on its side with the declared intention to negotiate the signing place and date. In response, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry acknowledged negotiations on the wording of the treaty concluded.
But the schedule for actually enshrining the deal in law is uncertain. Azerbaijan has insisted that Armenia must amend its constitution, which it claims implicitly lays claim to Azerbaijani land. Armenia denies this but has promised constitutional reforms are essential. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has proposed a referendum on such reforms, though no timeframe was set.
Tensions mounted further in January when Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev accused Armenia of building a “fascist” threat, something Armenian officials interpreted as a potential pretext to resume fighting.
Peace negotiations were stepped up after Azerbaijan captured Nagorno-Karabakh by force in September 2023, compelling nearly all of the 100,000 ethnic Armenians in the region to flee to Armenia. While both nations have said they desire to make peace official, little progress has been made because they have not solved outstanding issues or overcome suspicion.
Even though the agreement is a major breakthrough, the 1,000-km heavily militarized border between Azerbaijan and Armenia remains a huge stumbling block. The world now waits to see Armenia and Azerbaijan surmount the last hurdles on the way to a long-awaited solution.
