Key Points
- Azerbaijan demands EU withdrawal before signing Armenia peace deal.
- Armenia calls EU monitors essential for border security.
- Ruben Vardanyan faces new charges, complicating peace process.
Hikmet Hajiyev, the main policy adviser to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, stated that Azerbaijan is requesting that the European Union withdraw its monitoring mission along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border in order to conclude a peace treaty with Armenia.
Azerbaijan demands EU withdrawal before Armenia peace deal is signed
The monitoring mission was sent by the EU in early 2023 after gunshot exchanges between Armenian and Azerbaijani soldiers escalated. When Azerbaijani forces captured the remaining Armenian-controlled regions of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region in September 2023, tensions peaked and a large-scale evacuation of ethnic Armenians from the enclave ensued.
While Azerbaijan claims the monitors are biased against Baku, Armenia has maintained that the EU mission is essential to preserving stability. Although Armenia is “ready to discuss adjustments” to the mission’s operations, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia emphasized that the mission’s presence is still necessary for security. He proposed limiting monitoring to areas of the border that are not marked as a potential compromise.
According to reports, 15 of the 17 proposed articles in the draft peace treaty feature language that both Armenian and Azerbaijani negotiators have agreed upon. However, progress is still being stalled by unresolved difficulties in two important articles. Armenia’s 1991 declaration of independence, which makes reference to the merger of Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia, is one of the main points of contention.
Ruben Vardanyan faces new charges as custody continues
The issue of Ruben Vardanyan, a wealthy and former de facto leader of Nagorno-Karabakh, who is being charged with more crimes in Azerbaijan, is making the peace negotiations even more difficult. As hundreds of ethnic Armenians fled Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023, Vardanyan was taken into custody at a checkpoint along the Lachin Corridor. He has been accused by Azerbaijani officials of a number of crimes, including “financing terrorism” and unlawful immigration.
Jared Genser, Vardanyan’s attorney, referred to the proceedings as a “secret tribunal” and asserted that his client was not receiving due process. Prime Minister Pashinyan is accused by critics of permitting Vardanyan to stay in Azerbaijani captivity, despite the Armenian government’s claims that it is striving to achieve his release.
Baku’s insistence on the withdrawal of EU monitors adds another level of complexity to the peace accord, even though Armenian and Azerbaijani negotiators have made headway on most of it. According to Armenia, the mission is essential to preserving security, particularly in regions with ill-defined boundaries.
Azerbaijan’s demand for the mission’s removal has not received a public response from the EU, and it is still unclear if either party will make concessions.
