Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, in an interview with Izvestia today on the sidelines of the Baku meeting between Vladimir Putin and Ilham Aliyev, said any peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan must eliminate all mutual “territorial claims”.

"For us, the main issue is that all existing territorial claims should be completely eliminated and the document, ideally the peace agreement, should eliminate all possible risks, a possible return to that issue in the future," Bayramov said.

Azerbaijan claims that a preamble to Armenia’s Constitution indirectly refers to a 1989 declaration on Artsakh’s reunification with the Republic of Armenia and calls for the international recognition of the 1915 Armenian Genocide.

Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan has periodically called for a new constitution, arguing the people of Armenia do not trust the existing document. In January of this year, Pashinyan again called for a new constitution, arguing it’s needed to make Armenia “more competitive and viable” in an ever-changing world and one that is not subject to “doubt”.

Opposition forces in Armenia have argued that Pashinyan’s call for a new constitution is the result of pressure from Azerbaijan.

Bayramov said Russia is an acceptable platform for peace talks between Yerevan and Baku in addition to the direct bilateral format.

Bayramov referred to “unjustified demands” being made by Yerevan but failed to specify them.

Photo: Azerbaijan Foreign Ministry