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Aliyev said Azerbaijan recently tabled its proposals for a future peace treaty with Armenia and awaited Yerevan’s response.
In a statement on Tuesday, his foreign ministry said it “stands prepared for direct negotiations with Armenia on a bilateral basis to finalise the peace agreement as soon as possible”.
Azerbaijan has recently refused meetings under the mediation of the EU or the US, accusing them of favouring Armenia.
“The responsibility to continue the peace process – including the selection of a mutually acceptable venue or a decision to meet at the state border – lies with two countries,” it said, an apparent refusal of international mediation.
STALLED PEACE TALKS
Both leaders have said a comprehensive peace agreement could be signed by the end of the year, but internationally mediated peace talks between the former Soviet republics have seen little progress.
Aliyev and Pashinyan have also met on several occasions for talks under the mediation of the European Union.
But last month, Aliyev refused to attend negotiations with Pashinyan in Spain, citing French bias.
French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz were meant to mediate the talks with EU chief Charles Michel.
There has since then been no visible progress to resume EU-led talks.
Washington had also organised several meetings between the countries’ foreign ministries.
Azerbaijan however on Thursday refused further talks, due to what it says is Washington’s “biased” position.
The traditional regional power broker Russia – bogged down in its Ukraine war – has seen its influence wane in the Caucasus.
In 2020, Moscow brokered a ceasefire that ended six weeks of fighting after which Baku reclaimed swathes of territory controlled for three decades by Armenian separatist forces.
After that conflict, Russian President Vladimir Putin has hosted Aliyev and Pashinyan for several rounds of peace talks, most recently in May.
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