Azerbaijani MP says delays to peace treaty threaten regional stability

A historic opportunity for lasting peace in the South Caucasus emerged after Azerbaijan fully restored its sovereignty in 2023, but the signing of a final peace treaty continues to be delayed, Azerbaijani MP Vugar Rahimzada told Report.

He said the peace agenda agreed in Washington during President Ilham Aliyev's visit to the United States in August 2025 involved a series of steps that Baku has consistently reiterated.

"A referendum on a new constitution, the adoption of a constitution containing no territorial claims, and only then the signing and ratification of a peace agreement are the key conditions for establishing interstate relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

The MP said reopening regional transport links, particularly implementing the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP), which would connect mainland Azerbaijan with Nakhchivan, had become a significant geopolitical "bargaining chip" for Armenia.

"Pashinyan's desire to delay the peace treaty until 2031 - a period spanning the next several election cycles - is also part of a strategy to buy time. Armenia's attempts to postpone the signing of a peace treaty for five years or more under various pretexts pose serious risks to peace and stability in the region. Armenia's tactics of delaying the peace treaty and the delimitation process not only undermine regional stability but, above all, deal a major blow to Yerevan's own interests as a state."