Russian Ambassador in Azerbaijan Discusses Peace Treaty Negotiations Between Yerevan and Baku

Moscow is ready to provide maximum support to Yerevan and Baku in the negotiations on the peace treaty. This was stated by Mikhail Evdokimov, the Russian ambassador to Azerbaijan, in an interview with the Izvestia newspaper.

Emphasizing that Armenia and Azerbaijan are now directly exchanging drafts of the peace treaty, Evdokimov mentioned that what the Azerbaijani side is proposing is, in his opinion, standard formulations and articles and, based on Baku's proposals, he believes that "negotiations can be brought to a conclusion quite quickly."

When asked if he thinks a treaty could be signed this year, Evdokimov replied, "I see that Azerbaijan is determined to complete the negotiations on the signing of the peace treaty very quickly. However, as we know, for the negotiations to be concluded, both sides must have such a desire."

"We are ready to provide the Moscow platform, and if necessary, our expertise and advice regarding the text. We have very good cooperation with our Azerbaijani partners in this regard," said Evdokimov.

To the comment that the issue of a transport corridor from the main part of Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan remains unresolved, Evdokimov responded: "This topic is very important for the Azerbaijani side. It concerns the existence of transport routes between mainland Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan. During the first Nagorno-Karabakh war, all communications were interrupted, and the supply of electricity to Nakhchivan was also halted. Therefore, for Azerbaijan, the security of this route (approximately 46 km) is not an abstract topic. There are also tunnels and bridges. The Russian Federation was ready to restore this route quite quickly with its resources. For various reasons, which are not entirely clear to me, the Armenian side is prolonging the negotiations."

The diplomat also reminded that last year, Baku and Tehran signed an agreement on the construction of a railway through Iranian territory.

"It concerns a bit more than 60 km, the route is more complicated, but this work is already underway. Throughout all these years, automobile freight transport between Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan was conducted through Iranian territory," said the ambassador, emphasizing the importance of the railway construction from Turkey to Nakhchivan.

"Thus, we will be able to transport goods from Russia to Turkey through the territories of Azerbaijan, Iran, and Nakhchivan," Evdokimov stated.