Eurasianet: The hardline approach may nudge Armenia into making concessions on the peace treaty’s points

Armenia and Azerbaijan appear to have resolved their differences on two negotiating points, clearing the way for the signing of a peace agreement that would end more than 35 years of conflict, Eurasianet writes.

Armenia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced March 13 that “the text of the Peace Agreement has been agreed upon.” The statement added that Yerevan had accepted Azerbaijani proposals on the two sticking points that had delayed finalization of the draft treaty for months. The statement did not provide further details concerning the settlement of the contentious provisions.

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry, in its own statement issued on March 13, expressed “satisfaction” with the draft treaty, but added that several pre-conditions needed to be met before Azerbaijani officials would sign the pact.

The first “prerequisite to allow the signing of the negotiated text” is Yerevan’s adoption of an “amendment to Armenia’s constitution to eliminate the claims against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan,” according to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry statement. The second is Armenia’s consent to “abolish the obsolete and dysfunctional Minsk Group and related structures of the OSCE.”

As noted, The Minsk Group, led by the United States, Russia and France, was established in 1992 to oversee the peace process, but the entity’s influence waned in recent years. The draft peace treaty was negotiated largely outside of the Minsk Group framework.

In the months preceding the sudden announcement that the peace treaty text has been finalized, bilateral relations had taken a nosedive, raising doubts about a settlement over the near term. Azerbaijan’s position on a land connection between the mainland and Nakhijevan significantly hardened, and Baku’s rhetoric became increasingly belligerent. It now seems that the hardline approach may have nudged Armenia into making concessions that Azerbaijan sought on the treaty’s sticking points.