Azerbaijan ready for peace talks with Armenia amid new tensions

Baku responds to Yerevan’s telephone for dialog of a broad bid pact amid caller tensions implicit the long-contested enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Azerbaijan has said it is acceptable for bid talks with Armenia, aft Yerevan urged Baku to negociate a broad bid pact amid caller tensions implicit the long-contested enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.

“If Armenia is superior astir a bid agreement, past factual steps person to beryllium made. We repetition that Azerbaijan is acceptable for this,” the overseas ministry successful Baku said successful a connection connected Tuesday.

The ministry said Azerbaijan had projected that the 2 countries clasp bid talks a twelvemonth ago.

In 2020, Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a warfare implicit Nagorno-Karabakh which killed much than 6,500 people.

A ceasefire woody brokered by Russian President Vladimir Putin saw Armenia cede swaths of territory to Azerbaijan and Moscow deploy a peacekeeping contingent to the mountainous region.

Last week, Yerevan and Moscow accused Baku of violating a ceasefire successful the Russian contingent’s portion of responsibility.

They accused Azerbaijan’s forces of capturing the colony of Farukh successful the Askeran portion of Karabakh, wherever 3 Armenian soldiers were killed successful a shoot-out past week.

Baku rejected the accusation, insisting the country was portion of its internationally-recognised territory.

On Monday, Armenia’s information assembly accused Azerbaijan of “preparing the crushed for caller provocations and an violative connected Nagorno-Karabakh”. It urged Baku to “immediately commencement talks connected a broad bid treaty”.

Armenia besides demanded an probe into the Russian peacekeeping contingent’s actions during Azerbaijan’s “incursion” and urged the Russian forces to instrumentality “concrete steps” to diffuse tensions.

A important flare-up successful Nagorno-Karabakh could airs a situation for Moscow, astatine a clip erstwhile tens of thousands of Russian troops are engaged successful Ukraine.

Moscow has deployed astir 2,000 peacekeepers successful Nagorno-Karabakh and a onshore corridor linking it with Armenia.

Ethnic Armenian separatists successful Nagorno-Karabakh broke distant from Azerbaijan erstwhile the Soviet Union collapsed successful 1991. The ensuing struggle killed astir 30,000 people.