Armenia is ready for peace with Azerbaijan if Baku has the same political will, Deputy Armenian Foreign Minister Vahan Kostanyan told Reuters on Saturday (March 2), adding Yerevan was also ready to make progress on normalisation efforts with its neighbour Turkey, Reuters reports.
"This is a political will – issue of political will and leadership. On the Armenian side we do have it and we numerously showed our political will. Now if Azerbaijani side is really interested in having peace, we just need to agree to put this agreed principles by leaders on paper and sign it," Kostanyan said.
South Caucasus neighbours Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought two wars in the past 30 years over the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, a mountainous area that is part of Azerbaijan, but where ethnic Armenians had broken away and established de facto independence in the 1990s.
Speaking during an interview at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkey, Kostanyan said among the outstanding issues between Baku and Yerevan is the lack of agreement over their shared border, with each holding small enclaves surrounded by the other's territory.
Asked about the prospects of full normalisation with Turkey, Kostanyan said Yerevan had done the necessary work to open borders with Turkey, including repairs on infrastructure, and it was now waiting on Ankara's response. Such a move would also help peace efforts with Azerbaijan, he said.
"On Armenia-Turkey, let me once again say that we want to reach full normalisation of relations with the opening of the border and the establishing of diplomatic relations which we don’t have for 30 years," Kostanyan said.
