Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan has expressed "cautious optimism" regarding the upcoming talks with his Azerbaijani counterpart in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
"We are participating in the talks sincerely, constructively, with goodwill and are confident that the establishment of final peace is indeed in the interests of the peoples of both countries - Armenia and Azerbaijan," Mirzoyan said at a press conference with Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto in Budapest.
Mirzoyan recalled that the two countries agreed to abide by the principles based on the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration, i.e. they mutually confirmed the recognition of each other's sovereign territories and decided to carry out border demarcation in accordance with the 1991 declaration.
"In terms of the upcoming negotiations, I want to express cautious optimism that we will be able to reach an agreement with my Azerbaijani partner or assure that the same principle will be clearly reflected in the peace agreement, and after that we will be very close to a final settlement," the minister added, referring to the planned May 10 meeting with Jeyhun Bayramov in Almaty.
As for the unblocking of roads in the region, Mirzoyan said there is no full understanding between the sides on this issue yet.
"But Armenia is interested in opening all transportation infrastructure and communication with Azerbaijan, on the basis of sovereignty of the countries, national jurisdiction, as well as in accordance with the principles of reciprocity and equality...And now, if we manage to clearly fix all this in a peace agreement, we can say that we are entering the stage of long-term peace," the Foreign Minister said.
