Armenia, Azerbaijan Finalize Peace Agreement But Hurdles Remain

Armenia and Azerbaijan, have fought a series of wars since the late 1980s, have finalized the text of a long-awaited peace agreement aimed at establishing formal relations, marking a significant step toward ending decades of hostilities.

Armenia’s Foreign Ministry confirmed on March 13 that Yerevan has accepted Azerbaijan’s proposals on two remaining uncoordinated articles of the agreement, effectively concluding negotiations on the text. It has proposed consultations with Azerbaijan on a signing date and venue.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian told journalists in Yerevan shortly after the ministry's announcement that the draft peace treaty is a compromise and that his country is ready to start consultations on the timing of signing the treaty.

"We have no secrets from our society in that text which, in fact, article by article was published separately. I don’t think it can be said that the society is not familiar with the content," Pashinian said, stressing that Armenia and Azerbaijan will not deploy foreign forces along the border after signing the treaty.

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Ceyhun Bayramov told reporters on March 13 that "the negotiation process over the peace treaty text has officially concluded," adding that "the last two unresolved clauses have been addressed, with Armenia accepting Azerbaijan’s proposals."

Despite the breakthrough, Azerbaijan maintains that the treaty cannot be signed until Armenia revises its constitution and legal framework to remove any references to territorial claims over regions inside Azerbaijan, a reference mainly to Nagorno-Karabakh.

"This is a necessary precondition for signing the peace agreement," Bayramov said.

Years Of Negotiation

The latest development follows years of negotiations over a lasting peace deal.

Nagorno-Karabakh, home to a significant Armenian population, had been under the control of ethnic Armenian authorities since the early 1990s following a devastating war between the two neighbors after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

After a brief but intense Azerbaijani military offensive in September 2023, the separatist leadership surrendered and the region, now officially called Karabakh, was reintegrated into Azerbaijan.

The war led to the mass exodus of more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians from the region, effectively ending decades of separatist rule.

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In the wake of the latest war over the region, Armenia and Azerbaijan resumed negotiations on a peace treaty to formally recognize each other’s territorial integrity and establish diplomatic relations.

One of the key stumbling blocks in the negotiations has been Armenia’s legal position regarding Nagorno-Karabakh's status as an Azerbaijani territory.

Baku has long argued that Armenia’s constitution includes implicit territorial claims over Nagorno-Karabakh, and Azerbaijani officials insist that this must be amended before the treaty can be signed.