Armenia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Ararat Mirzoyan and his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov had an exchange about the pending peace agreement between the two countries during a high level diplomatic forum in Antalya. The two debated the current political situation in the region during a panel discussion titled “Challenges and Opportunities for Regional Cooperation in the South Caucasus” held during the 4th Antalya Diplomacy Forum.
Minister Mirzoyan stated that that although the text of the peace agreement may not answer every question, it marks an unprecedented and significant turning point. “We have agreed on the text. This agreement recognizes each other’s territorial integrity based on the borders at the time of the Soviet Union's dissolution,” Mirzoyan said. “It is not perfect, but it is a solid starting point for peace.” He added that Armenia’s focus is on building a peaceful and cooperative future not revisiting the tragic and complicated past.
On his part, Minister Bayramov insisted that unless Armenia changes or removes references to its 1990 Declaration of Independence, the peace deal will not hold. He also said that any peace agreement must comply with each country’s Constitution and warned that without constitutional changes, the deal could be “null and void.” He questioned why, if Armenia was truly concerned about Azerbaijan’s Constitution, it had not raised the issue earlier.
In his response Minister Mirzoyan said: “Our Constitution is a public document. There is nothing in it that says Karabakh is part of Armenia,” he explained. “Yes, the preamble references our Declaration of Independence. But legally, only the parts quoted in the body of the Constitution have legal force and the sentence Azerbaijan is concerned about is not included.”
Throughout the discussion, Mirzoyan made it clear that Armenia is not just thinking about Azerbaijan. Georgia, Turkey, and the wider region all have a role to play. He spoke of energy corridors, aerial connectivity, and building a regional platform for peace, trade, and innovation.
Despite exchange during the panel discussion, the two foreign ministers met on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum and discussed normalization of ties between their countries. Both expressed a readiness for dialogue. They met on April 12, the second day of the Forum. On this same day, the Antalya Diplomacy Forum hosted the first-ever direct trilateral dialogue between Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia.
