Baku Responds to Yerevan's Proposal for Troop Withdrawal from the Armenian-Azerbaijani Border

Baku does not agree with Yerevan's proposal to withdraw troops from the border. This was stated by Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov during a press conference following talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.

"I will answer briefly; I do not agree with the opinion of the Armenian Foreign Minister," Bayramov said while commenting on Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan's statement about withdrawing troops from the borders of the two countries.

"The Armenian-Azerbaijani border is not delimited; this is a rather complex issue. If the troops are withdrawn without reaching a complete agreement, who can guarantee that one party will not retake positions? Today, the Azerbaijani army is protecting Azerbaijan's borders, which is logical. The Azerbaijani army did not come to these borders at anyone's goodwill or invitation. The Azerbaijani army liberated its lands after 30 years of bloodshed and is now positioned at the borders. Our principled approach is that Azerbaijan's borders can only be defended by Azerbaijani soldiers; this cannot be trusted to a third party. This is Azerbaijan's sovereign right. We advise Armenia to pay attention to our constructive proposals. In this case, the issues can develop positively," Bayramov stated.

It was previously reported that Yerevan and Baku are discussing the option of troop withdrawal from the interstate border.