Armenia and Azerbaijan Reach Final Agreement on Peace Treaty
Armenia has confirmed that it has accepted Azerbaijan’s latest proposals regarding their remaining differences over a long-awaited peace treaty. This announcement is a major step in the negotiations between the two countries, which have been trying to reach an agreement after Azerbaijan’s occupation of indigenous Armenian region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
On March 13, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov announced that the negotiations on the peace treaty between Azerbaijan and Armenia were now complete. He emphasized that Armenia must move forward with changing its constitution to eliminate territorial claims against Azerbaijan.
“The work on the text has been completed,” Bayramov told journalists, according to Azerbaijani news agencies. He also stated that Armenia must remove the influence of the Minsk Group, an international body that previously mediated between the two nations.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry later confirmed that it had notified Azerbaijan of its acceptance of the final proposals regarding the treaty. However, the ministry did not publicly disclose the details of these proposals.
According to reports, the latest demands from Azerbaijan included two major points:
Both countries must withdraw international lawsuits filed against each other.
Armenia must agree not to allow any third-party troops or monitors on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border.
Previously, the Armenian government had concerns about these demands. But its recent decision suggests that it may have dropped those objections in order to move forward with the treaty.
“Thus, the Peace Treaty is ready for signing,” the Armenian Foreign Ministry stated. The ministry also said that Armenia is now ready to discuss the date and location of the official signing with Azerbaijan.
One of Azerbaijan’s key conditions for the peace deal is for Armenia to change its current constitution, which Baku claims includes territorial claims against Azerbaijan. While Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has publicly rejected this demand, he has also stated that he plans to enact a new Armenian constitution through a referendum. However, this process is unlikely to be completed before June 2026.
On Wednesday, Pashinyan said that the new constitution could have a "regional significance." This statement caused concern among Armenian opposition leaders, who believe that the constitutional changes are being made under pressure from Azerbaijan and Turkey.
“I consider this a direct admission that the change of Armenia’s constitution is being carried out at the behest of an external party,” said Kristine Vartanian, a parliament deputy from the opposition Hayastan alliance.
Another major issue between the two countries is the demand by Azerbaijan for a land corridor to connect its mainland with the Nakhijevan exclave, which is separated from the rest of Azerbaijan by Armenian territory. Azerbaijan has insisted on an "extraterritorial" corridor, meaning a route that would be under Azerbaijani control and free from Armenian checkpoints.
Earlier this month, Pashinyan expressed frustration over Azerbaijan’s refusal to accept his proposed solutions for transport links to Nakhijevan. He also suggested that Baku might be preparing for a potential military attack on Armenia.
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