Civilnet
By Alexander Pracht
U.S. National Security Advisor Michael Waltz has called for the swift completion of the Armenia-Azerbaijan normalization deal and the release of Armenian prisoners held in Baku. In a post on X on Sunday, Waltz said he had spoken with Hikmet Hajiyev, an aide to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
“We are pleased Azerbaijan and Armenia have taken a big step forward and agreed to a peace treaty […] We should finalize this peace deal now, release the prisoners, and work together to make the region more secure and prosperous,” Waltz wrote.
Armenia and Azerbaijan announced last Thursday that they had agreed on the last two provisions of their long-negotiated normalization deal. World leaders have welcomed the development, seeing it as a crucial step toward ending decades of conflict in the South Caucasus.
However, the future of the agreement is in doubt, as Azerbaijan continues to insist it will not sign an agreement until Armenia changes its constitution, a multi-year process that requires passage in a national referendum.
Despite the announcement of progress, Azerbaijan accused Armenia of multiple ceasefire violations along the border over the weekend. Armenia’s Defense Ministry denied the claims, reiterating its longstanding proposal for a mutual arms control mechanism, which Baku has not responded to. The European Union civilian observer mission, deployed along Armenia’s side of the border, reported no unusual activity.
Conflict in the South Caucasus must end. I spoke this week with Mr. Hikmet Hajiyev, the national security advisor for President Aliyev in Azerbaijan.
— Mike Waltz (@MikeWaltz47) March 16, 2025
We are pleased Azerbaijan and Armenia have taken a big step forward and agreed to a peace treaty. I told him we should…
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