From the beginning of the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan has offered and served as one of the trusted platforms for bilateral negotiations, leading to the historic Joint Declaration by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, and the President of the United States of America on the outcomes of their meeting in Washington, D.C.
This includes both the meeting between the Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan, Jeyhun Bayramov, and Armenia, Ararat Mirzoyan, in Almaty in May 2024, and the offer by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, to host further peace talks between the leaders of the two countries in the city of Almaty in late 2024. The meeting between the Foreign Ministers on 10–11 May 2024 in Almaty was important for advancing progress on the delimitation of borders and building upon earlier agreements in this regard. It also served as a platform to continue negotiations on the Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and Interstate Relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the final text of which was finalized on July 10 in Abu Dhabi and initiated in Washington during the trilateral summit.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev was among the first leaders to welcome the signing of the Joint Declaration in Washington, calling it a “historically significant achievement.” Some of the key outcomes of the Washington summit include the joint appeal by the Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to close the Minsk Process, which, over its 33 years of existence, failed to bring a resolution to the war or contribute meaningfully to the peace process between the two countries. Another significant result of the summit was the reaffirmation of the need to open communication lines between the countries, beginning with “unimpeded connectivity” between the main part of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic through the territory of the Republic of Armenia. Initially referred to as the Zangezur Corridor, the framework for what is now called the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” will be prepared by Armenia and the United States, passing through Armenia’s southern region.
The opening of communication lines between Azerbaijan and Armenia is of great interest to Kazakhstan, given the strategic position of both countries within the Trans-Caspian International Transportation Route. Currently, this route provides the only uninterrupted and least troublesome means of trade between the European Union and Kazakhstan. It is also significant for the security of pipelines running through Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey, as Kazakhstan has substantially increased its oil exports to the European market via these pipelines as a secure diversification from the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which has been disrupted on several occasions by the Russian side.
At present, the only remaining condition for signing the final peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia is the removal of territorial claims on Azerbaijani lands from the Armenian constitution. Nevertheless, the Washington summit made a significant contribution by advancing the opening of communication lines and finalizing the text of the peace agreement, marking a milestone towards ending a conflict that lasted for three decades. Kazakhstan played a notable role by hosting negotiations between the Foreign Ministers, where the text of the peace agreement was further developed, thereby contributing to the success of the Washington summit.
The author is Ibrahim Mammadov, a visiting research fellow at the Danube Institute, Budapest, Hungary. Previously, he served as a research fellow at the Caucasian Center for International Relations and Strategic Studies (QAFSAM), as a scholar at the Institute for Development and Diplomacy (IDD) and as a research assistant at the Caucasus Policy Analysis Center (CPAC) in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of The Astana Times.
