Aliyev says Azerbaijan, Armenia made joint decision to 'close chapter' on war

ISTANBUL/MOSCOW

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said Tuesday that his country's leadership and Armenia’s made a joint decision to close their chapter of conflict.

"It was a joint decision by (the) Armenian and Azerbaijani leadership to close that chapter (of war) and to see the opportunities for peace," Aliyev told a panel session at the annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

During the panel, which was also attended by Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan, Aliyev criticized international institutions for their inability to resolve the three-decade conflict between their countries, responding to a question on the current state of multilateralism.

Noting how numerous resolutions were passed on the issue, including by the UN Security Council and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), he said none were effective.

"All of them did not materialize until we took (the) situation into our hands, and we did it. We restored justice, international law, our sovereignty, territorial integrity, and then we achieved peace," he said, arguing they should not rely on international institutions.

On Eurasia's place in the global landscape, Aliyev said Azerbaijan started economic cooperation and exports with Armenia after peace was established.

"Azerbaijan lifted all the restrictions on (the) transportation of cargoes to Armenia from Kazakhstan, from Russia, and now we got a request from (the) Armenian side to provide transit from Armenia to Russia," he added.

"So we de facto, unilaterally opened the corridors. Yes, the transportation goes through (neighboring) Georgia, but one day it will go through Armenia. One day Armenia will go directly through Azerbaijan, and that day is not too far away," he added.

He also said the Azerbaijan-Armenia and Türkiye-Armenia normalization tracks run parallel to each other and "will definitely end in parallel with the establishment of diplomatic relations between Türkiye and Armenia, and Azerbaijan and Armenia at the same time."

Through these processes, they are changing a broad geographical area which is very important for connectivity, energy security, and stability, he said.

This sets an "example of how long-lasting wars and conflicts can transform into partnership and cooperation," he added.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a joint declaration in August last year at a trilateral summit at the White House, alongside US President Donald Trump, to end decades of conflict, with commitments to cease hostilities, reopen transport routes and normalize relations.