Baku reveals three steps towards peace in South Caucasus

Baku hopes to hold another round of negotiations between Azerbaijani and Armenian officials on the draft peace agreement in the near future, Azerbaijan's Presidential Representative for Special Assignments Elchin Amirbayov told Estonian Public Broadcasting (ERR) company.

"The main direction of the negotiations is the agreement on the text of the peace agreement. It notes all the main parameters of future peace, including the restoration of communications. In addition to the main direction, there are two more: the opening of communications, as well as the delimitation and the subsequent demarcation of the state border between Azerbaijan and Armenia," Amirbekov said.

Amirbayov noted that Azerbaijan has begun discussions with Armenia on the restoration of the Zangezur Corridor to provide citizens of Azerbaijan residing in Nakhchivan or the main part of Azerbaijan with the opportunity for unimpeded passage through this territory.

"But it's not just about building the missing section... The main question for us is how the safety of Azerbaijani citizens who want to travel through this 42-kilometer section will be ensured. Currently, we are only talking about the railway. In the future, of course, we would like road communication between the main part of Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan, and further to Türkiye and Europe to be coordinated as well," Amirbayov said.

He noted that Baku doesn't intend to restrict Armenians' passage through its territory: if citizens of Armenia want to travel through the territory of Azerbaijan, their safety will be ensured by the Azerbaijani side.

"Another matter is that, within the same trilateral statement, the Armenian side committed itself to ensuring the security of the aforementioned railway section with the forces of Russian Federal Security Service, which currently ensure the security of Armenia's external borders with at least two neighboring countries - Türkiye and Iran," Amirbayov said.