Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov has said that the normalization of relations with Armenia is possible on the basis of the principles of international law, in particular, respect for the inviolability of borders and territorial integrity within international borders, Eurasia Diary reports citing Azernews. 

Bayramov made the remarks while receiving a delegation of members of the French National Assembly on February 22, the Foreign Ministry press office has reported. 

During the meeting, Minister Bayramov briefed the delegation members on the latest regional developments, including the situation after the 44-day Patriotic War, the elimination of the occupation factor as a basis for normalization of relations between the two countries, the implementation of trilateral statements and other relevant issues.

He further spoke about the development of bilateral cooperation. He noted that Azerbaijan has always attached great importance to the development of relations with France. It was noted that France has always been active in the region and relations are developing in all directions through mutual understanding and dialogue, the report added.

Members of the French National Assembly noted that the relations between the parliaments of the two countries are based on the principles of friendship. They assessed their current visit as useful in terms of getting acquainted with the current regional situation and gaining information about the position of Azerbaijan.

At the end of the meeting, Minister Bayramov answered numerous questions from members of the French National Assembly.

France is one of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries that had been mediating along with the USA and Russia to reach a peaceful solution to the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict since the signing of the volatile cease-fire agreement in 1994. The Minsk Group’s efforts resulted in no progress as Armenia refused to abide by the UN Security Council resolutions (822, 853, 874 and 884) demanding the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of its troops from Azerbaijani territories, which was the main obstacle to the resolution of the conflict.

The trilateral peace deal signed by the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders on November 10, 2020, ended the 30-decade conflict over Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region that along with the seven adjacent regions came under the occupation of Armenian armed forces in the war in the 1990s. 

On January 11, 2021, the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders signed the second statement since the end of the 44-day war. The newly-signed statement is set to implement clause 9 of the November 2020 statement related to the unblocking of all economic and transport communications in the region.