Le Monde: Tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan are palpable, while the signing of a peace agreement remains distant
One month after the historic March 13 announcement of a draft peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the signing still appears distant. No date has been set, and Baku has introduced new preconditions in the meantime. Armenia, however, hopes to convince its neighbor to sign quickly, Le Monde writes.
As noted, the announcement of this forthcoming agreement was met with enthusiasm by Washington, Brussels and several European leaders, particularly French President Emmanuel Macron.
The newspaper notes that before signing, Azerbaijan is demanding that Armenia amend its Constitution. Pashinyan has expressed his willingness to revise the Constitution, but such an amendment would require a referendum in Armenia, which could further delay the finalization of the agreement.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot condemned the Azerbaijani demand, stating, “This new precondition is unacceptable and delays the signing, while the diplomatic process has made great progress with the agreement of both sides.”
Before the peace agreement is signed, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev is also demanding the dissolution of the Minsk Group, co-chaired by Russia, France, and the United States. It was created in the early 1990s under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe to find a diplomatic solution between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
“Armenia, with very limited room for maneuver, has no preconditions. A separate subject of discussion is the dispute between Baku and Yerevan over the “Zangezur corridor,” which Aliyev claims, aiming to connect Azerbaijan with its Nakhijevan exclave and Turkey,” the newspaper writes.
As noted, in September 2023, Baku forcibly established complete control over Nagorno-Karabakh in a lightning attack, expelling about 100,000 Armenians living there.
The newspaper writes that tensions on the ground remain palpable. Azerbaijan regularly accuses Armenia of violating the ceasefire, while the Armenian Defense Ministry denies new allegations of violations.
