Armenia FM expresses ‘cautious optimism’ regarding upcoming talks with Azerbaijan counterpart

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan has expressed “cautious optimism” regarding his upcoming negotiations with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Jeyhun Bayramov.

"We are sure that the establishment of final peace stems from the interests of both countries and peoples. I would also like to express cautious optimism regarding the upcoming negotiations," said Mirzoyan, at his joint news conference with Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Peter Szijjarto, in Budapest.

Regarding a reporter’s remark that these negotiations can be described as "ping-pong," Mirzoyan assured that within the framework of this process "we managed to reach an agreement on many articles, many issues.”

“And you know that parallel processes are taking place, commissions on border issues are meeting. In fact, the process of border delimitation has started, they have reached an agreement in principle. The leaders of the two countries have held many meetings; also, they have come to an agreement on several fundamental issues; for example, and most importantly, the fact that the countries confirm the mutual recognition of each other's territorial integrity [editor’s note: the Azerbaijani authorities have not officially declared this] in accordance with the Alma-Ata Declaration, and the border delimitation shall take place based on the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration. As I already said, this is reflected in the work of the commissions on border issues, and there is an agreement to reflect this in the regulation of the border delimitation process.

I would like to express cautious optimism that my Azerbaijani counterpart and I will be able to reach an agreement, or reflect this principle in the peace treaty. And I can say that after that, we will get much closer to the final settlement," added the Armenian FM.