Azerbaijan and Armenia are at “real peace” and rebuilding trade links after decades of conflict, a senior Azerbaijani official has said, but Baku is insisting on changes to Armenia’s constitution before a final deal can be signed.
In an interview with Reuters on the sidelines of a forum in the city of Shusha this week, Hikmet Hajiyev, assistant to Azerbaijan’s president and head of the president’s foreign policy department, praised the countries’ progress towards peace, including growing direct contacts and bilateral trade.
“We are living in conditions of real peace. For Azerbaijan and Armenia, peace is not just something written on paper or contained in a declaration — it is a reality,” he said, pointing to increased supplies of Azerbaijani oil products to Armenia.
Despite the progress, he said Baku maintained its stance on Armenia’s constitution.
“The form of constitutional changes is Armenia’s internal matter,” said Hajiyev.
“What is important for Azerbaijan is that the provisions we regard as territorial claims against our country are formally removed, whether through the adoption of a new constitution or another legal mechanism.”
“Once that issue is resolved, we believe there will be no obstacles to signing the final peace agreement,” he said.
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