Armenia and Azerbaijan have opportunity to achieve peace - German Foreign Minister

YEREVAN, February 29. /ARKA/. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock believes that Armenia and Azerbaijan now have an opportunity to achieve and enjoy peace after years of painful conflict.

"The 30 years of conflict have brought terrible suffering and taken lives. We see bold steps by the two countries to put the past in the past and work to achieve lasting peace for their peoples," Baerbock said during a trilateral meeting with the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Berlin on Wednesday.

She recalled that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in Munich that they are ready for peace, to resolve existing issues exclusively through peaceful means.

"The dialogue that will continue tomorrow (February 29) is the best way to make further progress," Baerbock said.

"Reaching an agreement on the border and working on the remaining challenges will be in the interest of the peoples of both Armenia and Azerbaijan. It will also have a very positive effect on the South Caucasus, opening up communication and economic prospects,’ she said.

"Germany, as a friend of Armenia and Azerbaijan, is committed to supporting these efforts by being a guest at your meeting and by strengthening confidence-building measures. The EU and other international partners are also working on this," Baerbock said.

Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers Ararat Mirzoyan and Jeyhun Bayramov met Wednesday for two-day peace negotiations at the guest house of Annalena Baerbock on the outskirts of Berlin.

The meeting follows talks between German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, and the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, earlier this month on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, as well as a trip by Baerbock to Armenia and Azerbaijan in early November 2023. -0-