Azerbaijan and Armenia Thursday said they had agreed to take new steps toward normalizing relations and to exchange prisoners of war, as part of a series of mutual goodwill gestures intended to promote reconciliation between the estranged South Caucasus neighbors.
A joint statement by the countries also said Armenia agreed to lift its objections to Azerbaijan hosting next year’s international conference on climate change, the COP29.
The move could not only resolve a problem hanging over the COP28 forum underway in Dubai but also point to greater trust between Baku and Yerevan.
Countries had been unable to agree on an eastern European host for the 2024 climate talks, with Russia vetoeing EU countries. A decision on the meeting’s location and presidency is due within the next week.
The South Caucasus neighbors have been locked in a decadeslong conflict over the control of the Karabakh region, which Azerbaijan reclaimed after a lightning operation against illegal separatists in September.
Azerbaijan liberated most of the Karabakh region from Armenian occupation during 44 days of clashes in the fall of 2020, which ended with a Russian-brokered peace agreement, opening the door to normalization.
Azerbaijan sent troops to Karabakh on Sept. 19, and after just one day of fighting, Armenian separatist forces aided down arms and agreed to reintegrate with Baku.
Both countries have said a peace agreement could be signed by the end of the year, but peace talks – mediated separately by the European Union, the United States and Russia – have seen little progress.
On Thursday, the two sides agreed "to take tangible steps aimed at confidence-building" and reaffirmed their "intention to normalize ties and sign a peace agreement," the statement said.
Azerbaijan will release 32 captured Armenian service members and Armenia will free two Azerbaijani soldiers, "as driven by values of humanism and as a gesture of goodwill," the statement noted.
"The two countries reconfirm their intention to normalize relations and to reach a peace treaty on the basis of respect for the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity," it added.
European Council President Charles Michel praised the agreement as a major breakthrough, saying on social media platform 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 two countries said they "will continue discussing additional confidence-building measures which will be taken in the nearest future and call on the international community to support their efforts."
The agreements were reached during talks between the administration of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and the office of Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
"The Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan share the view that there is a historic chance to achieve a long-awaited peace in the region," the joint statement said.
Azerbaijan, which had on Wednesday received U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James O'Brien, said it was prepared to accept an offer by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to host talks between the countries' foreign ministers in Washington.
Armenia's foreign ministry said Yerevan had also responded positively to the offer.