BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 14. Secretary General of the Council of Europe Alain Berset has welcomed the announcements of Armenia and Azerbaijan on the finalization of negotiations on the draft peace agreement, TurkicWorld reports.
"When joining the Council of Europe in 2001, both countries pledged to work towards peaceful cooperation. This draft agreement is evidence of the will in both member states to fulfil this potential and build a stable and lasting peace in the region.
It is now crucial to maintain this momentum and ensure the smooth completion of this process, in the spirit of good neighbourly relations and with full respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of both countries, in line with the Statute of the Council of Europe.
The Council of Europe fully supports the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan," the statement reads.
Earlier, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the completion of negotiations on the draft text of the Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and Interstate Relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
"At the same time, we once again reaffirm Azerbaijan’s long-term and principled position that the main condition for signing the agreed text is the amendment of Armenia's constitution to remove claims to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. We also stress the need for the official dissolution of the outdated and non-functional OSCE Minsk Group and related structures. We are ready to continue bilateral dialogue between the two countries on these and other issues related to the normalization process," the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated.
