Iran Welcomes Armenia-Azerbaijan Peace Deal as ‘Important Step’

Iran has welcomed the announcement of a potential peace agreement between Armenia and The Azerbaijan Republic, aiming to end nearly four decades of conflict.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei on Friday hailed the development as “a necessary and important step” toward achieving “lasting” peace in the South Caucasus region.

Baqaei expressed hope that both nations would resolve outstanding issues through dialogue and finalize the agreement soon.

On Thursday, Armenia and The Azerbaijan Republic announced that they had agreed on the text of the peace deal, with Yerevan formally relinquishing its claim to Karabakh.

"The negotiation process on the text of the peace agreement with Armenia has been concluded," Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov told reporters, adding that "Armenia has accepted Azerbaijan Republic's proposals on the two previously unresolved articles of the peace treaty."

Armenia's foreign ministry confirmed the development in a statement, saying, "Negotiations on the draft agreement have been concluded," and "the Peace Agreement is ready for signing."

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan called it an "important event," stating that his country is "ready to begin discussions on the place and time for signing the peace agreement."

"We believe this text is a compromise, as a peace agreement should be," he added.

However, Pashinyan noted that two key issues in the draft accord had remained unresolved, including the "non-deployment of third-party forces" along the shared border.

Disagreements also persisted over the mutual withdrawal of legal cases from international courts.