Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed Thursday to exchange prisoners of war and work toward signing a peace treaty in what the European Union hailed as a major step toward peace in the long-troubled region.
Quick Read
- Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed to exchange prisoners of war and work towards signing a peace treaty, a move applauded by the European Union as a significant step towards peace in the region.
- The joint statement from both countries acknowledges the unique opportunity to achieve long-awaited peace, focusing on normalizing relations based on respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity.
- Azerbaijan’s military campaign in Nagorno-Karabakh in September, which ended three decades of ethnic Armenian rule, caused most of the 120,000 residents to flee the internationally recognized Azerbaijani region.
- Prior to this agreement, Armenia and Azerbaijan had been in a prolonged dispute over the peace process framework, marred by mutual distrust.
- As part of the agreement, Armenia will no longer oppose Azerbaijan hosting the 2024 international climate change conference, COP29.
- The decision to host the climate talks in Azerbaijan comes after disagreements among countries about an eastern European host, with Russia vetoing EU countries and Azerbaijan and Armenia vetoing each other.
- European Council President Charles Michel praised the agreement, highlighting the deal to release detainees and initiate political dialogue.
- Michel urged Armenia and Azerbaijan to finalize a peace deal promptly.
- The U.S. government welcomed the agreement, seeing the POW swap as a vital step in building trust towards finalizing a peace agreement and normalizing relations.
- The U.S. pledged strong support for achieving a lasting and dignified peace.
- Both countries have committed to taking concrete steps to build confidence, facilitated by discussions between Azerbaijan’s presidential administration and the office of Armenia’s prime minister.
- Azerbaijan will release 32 Armenian military servicemen, and Armenia will release two Azerbaijani soldiers in the POW exchange.
- The two countries plan to continue discussions on further confidence-building measures and seek international support to foster mutual trust.
The Associated Press has the story:
Armenia, Azerbaijan announce deal to exchange POWs, work toward peace treaty
Newslooks- YEREVAN, Armenia (AP)
Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed Thursday to exchange prisoners of war and work toward signing a peace treaty in what the European Union hailed as a major step toward peace in the long-troubled region.
The two countries said in a joint statement they “share the view that there is a historical chance to achieve a long-awaited peace.” They said they intend “to normalize relations and to reach the peace treaty on the basis of respect for the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Azerbaijan waged a lightning military campaign in September in the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The offensive ended three decades of rule there by ethnic Armenians and resulted in the vast majority of the 120,000 residents fleeing the region, which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.
Until Thursday’s announcement, the two countries had bitterly argued on the outline of a peace process amid mutual distrust.
As part of the deal, Armenia agreed to lift its objections to Azerbaijan hosting next year’s international conference on climate change.
Countries had been unable to agree on an eastern European host for the 2024 climate talks, with Russia vetoeing EU countries and Azerbaijan and Armenia nixing each other. A decision on the meeting’s location and presidency is due within the next week.
The joint statement said that “the Republic of Armenia supports the bid of the Republic of Azerbaijan to host the 29th Session of the Conference of Parties (COP29) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, by withdrawing its own candidacy.”
European Council President Charles Michel praised the agreement as a major breakthrough, saying on X that he particularly welcomes the deal to release detainees and make an “unprecedented opening in political dialogue.”
Michel called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to finalize a peace deal as soon as possible.
The U.S. government also welcomened the deal, saying the swapping of POWs was an “important confidence building measure as the sides work to finalize a peace agreement and normalize relations.”
“The United States will continue to strongly support efforts to reach a durable and dignified peace,” added the statement from State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.
Armenia and Azerbaijan said in their statement that talks between Azerbaijan’s presidential administration and the office of Armenia’s prime minister led to an agreement “on taking tangible steps towards building confidence between two countries.”
Azerbaijan said it would release 32 captured Armenian military servicemen, while Armenia will release two Azerbaijani soldiers.
The two countries said they will continue their discussions “regarding the implementation of more confidence building measures” and called on the international community for support “that will contribute to building mutual trust between two countries.”
