Armenia is failing to fulfill its obligations following the Karabakh war of 2020 between the two countries as a peace treaty has not been signed yet, while there is also no agreement on the delimitation of borders, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said on Monday.
"Armenia continues to fail to fulfill its obligations in all three main areas of interstate normalization, that is, the signing of a peace treaty, the delimitation of borders and the opening of regional communications," Bayramov said at the foreign ministers meeting of the EU's European Partnership initiative in the Belgian capital Brussels.
Bayramov said that the progress achieved in bilateral talks remains limited despite their increasing dynamism.
"Armenia still has not completely removed its illegal armed groups from the territory of Azerbaijan. Likewise, Armenia artificially delays the reestablishment of communication links and renounces the establishment of unimpeded communication between Azerbaijan and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic," Bayramov added.
Saying that the next stage of negotiations between Baku and Yerevan will take place in the coming weeks, Bayramov noted, "Bilateral negotiations have started on the text of the peace treaty, which will be one of the important outcomes of the Brussels meeting on Aug. 31."
Bayramov also commented on the topic of ethnic Armenians living in Azerbaijan, saying that Baku intends to reintegrate citizens of Armenian origin living in liberated lands into society by ensuring they have "the same rights and freedoms as all Azerbaijani citizens."
"The role of certain third parties in promoting Armenia's vengeful behavior is also of serious concern, as it encourages Armenia to intensify its military provocations and belligerent rhetoric," he added.
Relations between the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military illegally occupied Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan and seven adjacent regions.
Clashes erupted on Sept. 27, 2020, with the Armenian Army attacking civilians and Azerbaijani forces, violating several humanitarian cease-fire agreements.
During the 44-day conflict, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and around 300 settlements and villages that had been occupied by Armenia for almost 30 years.
The fighting ended with a Russian-brokered agreement on Nov. 10, 2020, which was seen as a victory for Azerbaijan and a defeat for Armenia. However, the cease-fire has been broken several times since then.