Bayramov: Azerbaijan and Armenia going through most peaceful period in relations

Azerbaijan and Armenia are currently going through the most peaceful and stable period in their bilateral relations, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said at the 32nd OSCE Ministerial Council meeting in Vienna, Report informs.

Bayramov stated that both sides are taking necessary steps at governmental, parliamentary and civil-society levels to give fresh momentum to the peace process. He stressed that Azerbaijan, as a goodwill gesture, has unilaterally lifted restrictions on the transit of goods to Armenia. These developments, he said, clearly show that direct bilateral negotiations are the best path forward - a position Azerbaijan has advocated for many years.

He highlighted significant progress in post-conflict normalization since last December, culminating in the historic peace summit in Washington on August 8.

"The summit resulted in a joint declaration by the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia, signed in the presence of US President Donald Trump, affirming that the conflict belongs to the past and cannot be subject to revision, and committing both sides to building neighborly relations," he said.

Bayramov thanked Finland as the OSCE's chair, the Secretariat, member states and the Ministerial Council for swiftly deciding to close the Minsk Process. He added that peace has now been "de facto established in a previously unstable OSCE region."