Jeyhun Bayramov: 'We have achieved de facto peace'

"Today, we have achieved de facto peace," Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov stated during his address at the general debate of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, Report informs, citing the MFA.

"Even though the decades-long conflict with Armenia brought immense tragedy to our people and left deep scars across our land, Azerbaijan has chosen to look ahead and turn the page of enmity.

We offered Armenia peace fully in line with norms and principles of international law, based on mutual recognition of and respect for each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Our normalization efforts produced historic results at the Washington Peace Summit last August, where the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a Joint Declaration witnessed by President Trump of the United States of America. Through this Declaration, both sides confirmed the end of the conflict and their will to jointly chart a peaceful and prosperous future. The sides also initialed the Agreement on Establishment of Peace and Inter-State relations.

Today, we have achieved de facto peace. Moreover, by unilaterally lifting transit restrictions, Azerbaijan facilitates transportation of goods to and from Armenia. We have also established bilateral trade. Azerbaijan provides strategically important oil products to Armenia on a regular basis despite increased volatility in markets and growing international demand for these commodities.

As we proceed with the peace agenda initiated by Azerbaijan, our entire region is now turning into a promising anchor of stability, connectivity, and tangible economic dividends.

To make this process irreversible, it is of crucial importance to eliminate the remaining obstacle, which will allow finalization of the normalization process through the signing of the already initialed bilateral agreement.

Complementing the regional normalization process, Azerbaijan's post-conflict rehabilitation agenda aims to ensure that hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis can eventually exercise their right to a safe and dignified return to their homes," Bayramov said in his speech.