Azernews.Az

Work is underway to organize a meeting in Yevlakh between representatives of the Azerbaijani government and representatives of the Armenian minority living in the Garabakh region of Azerbaijan, Azernews reports.

The proposal to hold this meeting does not come from any third country and it will be held without the participation of representatives of foreign states.

It should be noted that MP Ramin Mammadov was appointed responsible for contacts with Armenian residents living in the Garabakh region of the Republic of Azerbaijan. On 1 March, the parliamentarian met with representatives of Armenians living in the Garabakh region of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the town of Khojaly, at the headquarters of the peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation temporarily deployed on the territory of Azerbaijan.

In continuation of the meeting held on 1 March in the town of Khojaly and the invitation presented on 13 March, the Administration of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan once again proposed to hold a meeting in the first week of April in the city of Baku to discuss the reintegration of the representatives of the Garabakh Armenian minority, as well as the implementation of infrastructure projects in Garabakh. However, the opposite side refused these proposals.

President Ilham Aliyev has clarified the Azerbaijani government's position about the ethnic Armenians living in the country's Garabakh region, calling them the citizens of Azerbaijan. President Aliyev stated that Azerbaijan considers the Armenians living in Garabakh as its citizens, and hopes that they will soon understand that living as citizens of Azerbaijan will ensure all their rights and security. He further added that, unlike in Armenia, all ethnic groups, including Armenians, live in peace and dignity in the multi-ethnic Azerbaijani society.

In order to be integrated into Azerbaijani society, the Armenian minority in the Garabakh region must first give up separatist tendencies and aspirations, given Azerbaijan's obvious goodwill reflected in post-war developments. President Aliyev noted that the Armenians need to understand reality and look at the map, consider the geography, and understand that hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis will return to Kalbajar, Lachin, Shusha, and Aghdam in the near future.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Washington on Monday as part of efforts to ease friction between the South Caucasus rivals. The talks were not expected to yield a breakthrough, but the goal was to make sure that the ministers are able to sit down and talk to each other. Washington has expressed its "deep concern" about Azerbaijan establishing a road checkpoint at the start of the Lachin Corridor, the only route linking Armenia to the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh territory.

Negotiations over a longer-term peace deal between the two sides after another military flare-up last year quickly stalled as Armenia pushed for the European Union and France to have a bigger mediating role, but Azerbaijan rejected them. The stand-off is seen as a test of Russia's resolve to mediate disputes in the region. Armenia has repeatedly called on Moscow to use its peacekeeping force to stop what it calls Azerbaijan's "gross violation" of the peace deal.

The reintegration of the ethnic Armenians living in certain parts of the Garabakh region into Azerbaijani society has also been high agenda of Baku. Late last year, President Aliyev said the Armenian minority could participate in construction and restoration projects of the region and that Baku was ready to create conditions for them in the places and villages where they would live.

The upcoming meeting in Yevlakh between representatives of the Government of Azerbaijan and representatives of the Armenian minority living in the Garabakh region is an important step towards peace and stability in the region.

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