The peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia made very "little progress" this year because of Armenia’s unconstructive attitude, according to Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov.
Speaking at a press conference in Baku Tuesday, Bayramov looked back on 2022 and emphasized his country has "successfully" maintained an "independent, open, pragmatic foreign policy based on national interests" and further improved its relations with neighboring countries throughout the year.
"There were various platforms set up in 2022 for peace talks," Bayramov said in response to a question about France’s attempts to act as a mediator between Azerbaijan and Armenia. "Achieving results is what’s important for us. Negotiations must be focused on results. It’s not a priority for us to focus on a singular platform but we also cannot accept platforms that include unobjective and unfair states," Bayramov noted.
The Azerbaijani diplomat also remarked on the latest flareup in tensions between the rival nations involving the blockade of the Lachin corridor in Karabakh, a region that has locked the South Caucasus neighbors in a decades-old conflict over its control. Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but was illegally occupied by Armenia for three decades until 2020.
Baku and Yerevan fought two wars over the territory in the 1990s and again in the autumn of 2020 when six weeks of particularly intense clashes claimed over 6,500 lives before a Russian-brokered truce ended the hostilities.
Under the 2020 deal, Armenia ceded swathes of territory it had illegally occupied for decades and Russia stationed a force of 2,000 peacekeepers in the region to oversee a fragile truce.
Since mid-December, a group of Azerbaijani activists has been protesting illegal mining that has been causing environmental damage in the region. Baku has said it struck a deal with the Russian peacekeeping contingent earlier in December for its experts to probe the Kızılbulak gold mine and the Demirli copper mine on Azerbaijani lands housing Armenians on grounds that looting and illegal exploitation were observed but both the activists and the experts were barred access to the area.
"It was the Armenians preventing Azerbaijani experts from entering the region. This was the provocation of people describing themselves as Armenian leaders because we had an agreement on this matter and the Russian peacekeeping contingent was also informed in advance," Bayramov explained. "Since nothing yielded results, Azerbaijani environmentalists began protesting. They are expressing their objections for entirely justified reasons," he said.
He further pointed out the presence of armed Armenian groups on lands liberated from Armenia. "According to the trilateral memorandum (of January 2021), Armenia must remove those groups from the region. Yerevan is violating its obligations under the deal and raising tensions in the area. One of the reasons why tensions climbed in Karabakh is the activities of illegal armed groups there," Bayramov said.
The minister also shut down Russia’s suggestion to "leave the issue of Karabakh’s status to the upcoming years" as "unacceptable" for Azerbaijan.
He assured Baku would facilitate "all rights" granted to other citizens to the Armenian population in Karabakh, as well. "We will not accept in any way Ruben Vardanyan, who calls himself the new leader of Karabakh Armenia but having no connection to the region, as an interlocutor," he stressed.
Comprehensive allyship
Bayramov praised the "comprehensive allyship" between his country and Türkiye saying relations were maintained "successfully" throughout 2022. "In all prominent fields concerning the Shusha Declaration, joint works were conducted and new documents were crafted with Türkiye," he noted.
Under the Shusha Declaration signed after the Second Karabakh War, Ankara and Baku pledged that if one party was attacked, the other would assist. Indeed, the two countries held over 20 joint military exercises in 2022, as recently as on Dec. 5 to ensure coordination of units and exchange experience.
Furthermore, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev paid three visits to Türkiye while President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made the journey to Azerbaijan twice this year, Bayramov noted.
"Azerbaijan is developing its cooperation with Russia, Georgia and Central Asian nations as we continue efforts to advance ties with Iran," he said, adding that their contacts with European countries, the U.S. and China also continued throughout 2022.
Zangezur Corridor
When asked about Armenia’s blocking of the proposed Zangezur Corridor which envisages connecting the western Azerbaijani cities with Nakhchivan, Bayramov said, "As per a deal with Iran, a bridge is being constructed on the Aras River and it will be a short alternative path from Zangilan to Nakhchivan.
"Armenia’s attitude toward the Zangezur Corridor will only harm itself. It would be best for them foremost the sooner they understand this and fulfill their obligations by taking pragmatic steps in line with their national interests."
Zangezur was part of Azerbaijan, but in the 1920s, the Soviets gave the region to Armenia. After this move, Azerbaijan lost its link with Nakhchivan and some parts of the railway between the two countries were destroyed.
Azerbaijan has focused on projects in the Zangezur Corridor, which will include highways and rail lines stretching across territories in Armenia's Syunik region. Once those parts are repaired, Azerbaijan will be able to reach Iran, Armenia and Nakhchivan uninterruptedly by train. The railway will also link Türkiye with Russia through Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan-Iran ties
When asked about his country’s ties with its neighbor Iran, Bayramov said it wasn’t a secret their bilateral relations were "strained" but there was "no need to dramatize the situation."
There are also positive developments like economic agreements being realized, Bayramov reported. "These relations could be and should be better. Azerbaijan has played no role in the increase in tensions," he concluded.