If a peace agreement with Armenia is not signed, it will be bad for the entire South Caucasus, which must be protected from any risks. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated this in an interview with Euronews TV channel.

Aliyev does not see any serious obstacles to signing a peace agreement between Baku and Yerevan. However, he put forward a condition - Armenia should not question the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and the ownership of Karabakh.

“During the almost three-year negotiation process, Armenia has constantly wanted to include in the peace agreement a provision regarding the Armenian minority in Karabakh. Since they want, let’s also include the issue of the Azerbaijani minority in this country expelled from Armenia thirty years ago – and that’s almost 300 thousand people,” Aliyev noted.

The day before, Baku and Yerevan announced an exchange of prisoners of war. Armenia releases two Azerbaijani soldiers, and Azerbaijan releases 32 Armenian soldiers. The joint statement said that Armenia and Azerbaijan confirmed their intention to normalize relations and reach a peace treaty based on respect for the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.