Presidential Aide: Azerbaijan committed to peace

A senior aide to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said Azerbaijan is fully committed to the peace agenda, adding that Baku and Yerevan have already initiated a normalisation process.

“If in the past, at international platforms such as the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, we came with a heavy agenda of war and conflict, today I am pleased to note that we come with an agenda of peace,” Hikmet Hajiyev, head of the Foreign Policy Department of the Presidential Administration, said at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Türkiye on Friday, according to News.Az, citing local media.

He said there is no longer an active phase of war in the South Caucasus. “Azerbaijan is fully committed to the peace agenda and to the spirit of the Washington summit, where, in the presence of the President of the United States, the Armenia–Azerbaijan normalisation process was supported. At present, a normalisation agreement between the two countries has already been initiated,” Hajiyev said.

He emphasised that implementation of agreements is crucial, adding that they should not remain on paper. “What matters is their implementation. Azerbaijan demonstrates its commitment through practical steps and pragmatic engagement with Armenia,” he said.

Hajiyev noted that the negotiation process is progressing both at official level and through people-to-people contacts.

“Official negotiations are progressing successfully, while at the same time we are developing contacts between civil societies. Interaction between Armenia and Azerbaijan has already begun, something that would have been difficult to imagine just a few years ago,” he said.

He also pointed to early signs of practical cooperation, saying Azerbaijan is already exporting petroleum products to Armenia and is considering importing certain goods from Armenia. “These steps are important for building trust,” he said.

He added that a new status quo is emerging in the South Caucasus based on legality, legitimacy and shared interests. “We are also working on a new regional security architecture that will ensure long-term peace and stability,” he said, adding that Azerbaijan envisions the region’s future within a broader framework of cooperation.

“We are striving for a more inclusive South Caucasus with growing cooperation between Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia. Today, bilateral cooperation with Georgia is already strong, and the trilateral Türkiye–Azerbaijan–Georgia format continues to develop,” he said.

News.Az