Azerbaijan Ready for Peace Talks with Armenia

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Azerbaijan called on Armenia today, Tuesday, to participate in peace talks that it said could be held at the border between the two countries or elsewhere. The ministry urged Armenia, in a statement, to "avoid any new unnecessary delays" and to resume negotiations. It noted that "the responsibility for resuming the peace process, including choosing an acceptable location for both sides or deciding to meet at the border, lies with both parties." Earlier, Azerbaijan's foreign policy advisor, Ilham Aliyev, told Reuters that talks should take place bilaterally without the need for Western mediation. Efforts by the European Union and the United States to persuade both sides to reach a peace agreement in the past have failed. After three decades of conflict since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan finds itself in a strong position to negotiate a suitable resolution after regaining the Karabakh region in September, where Armenians had lived independently from Baku de facto since their separation in the early 1990s.