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Official Baku: Connection between Azerbaijan's western regions and Nakhchivan must be truly unhindered

17 April 2025 13:56 (UTC +04:00)

One of the key aspects in the negotiation process between Armenia and Azerbaijan is delimitation and the activities of the State Commissions, said Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov during a joint press conference with Slovenian Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon, APA reports.

The minister noted that the work in this direction has been highly valued: "The year 2024 was memorable in this regard. For the first time, an agreement was reached through negotiations, and the process of liberating the four villages of Qazakh, which had been occupied by Armenia since the early 1990s, took place. Contacts between the State Commissions continue, and this process is expected to continue in the coming months. Azerbaijan looks at the process with optimism. Another issue is the opening of communications between the countries. There is also the matter of an unhindered passage between Azerbaijan's western regions and Nakhchivan. Intensive negotiations had been held on this matter for a long time. Unfortunately, no practical result has been achieved yet. Azerbaijan is making progress in this regard, but Armenia has yet to reach an agreement on this. In addition to opening general communications, Azerbaijan requires a special approach to establishing a connection between the western regions and Nakhchivan. This is because there cannot be a situation where one country is split into two parts. Armenia undertook the obligation for unhindered passage in 2020, and this must be fulfilled. For Azerbaijan, this passage must be truly unhindered, with no obstacles. This is an obligation that should not allow any future changes in Armenian legislation to alter this situation in the short, medium, or long term. We have already experienced this. During the Soviet period, we had unhindered passage, but it was violated, and a region with more than 300,000 people remained under blockade. Regardless of any changes in political configurations, Azerbaijan expects to ensure free, unhindered passage, and our efforts in this direction continue."