Azerbaijan’s pro-government media amplifies weeks-old threat over Armenia peace talks

Azerbaijani pro-government media have begun circulating an apparent threat made by a top Azerbaijani official two weeks ago, in which he warned Armenia that they risked losing their ‘window’ for a peace deal if they did not bow to Azerbaijani demands quickly.

Elchin Amirbayov, a special advisor to President Ilham Aliyev, had made the comments during a trip to Argentina on 14 March.

‘The only obstacle that remains to achieving a definitive peace is the territorial claims enshrined in the Armenian Constitution. We must now hope that Armenia will take that next step, and once that happens, I hope we will be closer to achieving a definitive peace’, Amirbayov said. ‘The fact that we already have a text that both parties have agreed upon places an additional responsibility on Armenia to not delay the process because this window could close, and we do not want that to happen’, he added.

Amirbayov’s comments on the peace deal did not initially gain traction in Azerbaijani media. However, on Wednesday, Report.az, a major pro-government press agency, reported on the comments without stating when they happened. Report.az had covered Amirbayov’s visit to Argentina at the time without mentioning his apparent warning to Armenia. Other pro-government media outlets have also picked up the story in recent days without explanation.

During the press conference in Buenos Aires, Amirbayov said Azerbaijan had ‘called on Armenia to speed up the process of signing a peace agreement, noting that such an opportunity will not exist indefinitely’.

‘One of the factors that pushed Armenia to reach an agreement is the realisation that this chance may disappear’, he said.

His comments had originally come a day after Armenia and Azerbaijan announced they had finalised the terms of what could be a historic peace agreement.

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Since the agreement was announced, however, tensions have continued to rise. Azerbaijan has demanded Armenia change its constitution before the agreement could be signed, while repeatedly accusing Armenia of violating the ceasefire.

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