Azerbaijani president proposes peace talks with Armenia in Georgia

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has that proposed Georgia as a location for peace talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia after the last episode of conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh in September.

The statement was made in a joint press statement with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, as reported by Azerbaijani state-owned agency Azertac.

The suggestion came after Azerbaijan and its close ally Turkey both decided not to attend planned peace talks between Baku and Yerevan on the sidelines of the European Political Community Summit held on Oct. 5 in Granada, Spain.

Georgia, which borders both Armenia and Azerbaijan as the third former Soviet republic in the Caucasus, could serve as a mediator between the two countries, according to the communique.

Following a rapid Azerbaijani military offensive launched on Sept. 19, Karabakh authorities surrendered in a ceasefire mediated by Russia.

A formal decree was later signed, dissolving all official institutions of the breakaway state from Jan. 1, 2024.

Following Azerbaijan's victory, around 100,000 people have left Nagorno-Karabakh for Armenia, a spokesperson for the Armenian prime minister said on Sept. 29.

Under international law, Nagorno-Karabakh is recognized as Azerbaijani territory but came under the de-facto control of Armenian separatists in 1991.

Since then, concerns remain high in Armenia that Baku might have designs on sovereign Armenian territory, particularly the southern region of Syunik, which Azerbaijan calls the Zangezur Corridor and which Aliyev often calls "Western Azerbaijan."

In September 2022, Azerbaijani forces conducted mass artillery attacks on Armenian military positions and civilian settlements in Armenian territory.

Read also: Russia’s ‘peacekeeper’ act crumbles as Azerbaijan overwhelms Nagorno-Karabakh

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