Aze.US
President Ilham Aliyev said the conflict with Armenia has effectively ended and border violence has ceased for more than six months, framing the remaining peace process as a legal formality tied to constitutional amendments in Yerevan.
President Ilham Aliyev stated in an interview with France 24 in Munich on February 13 that Azerbaijan considers its long-running conflict with Armenia effectively concluded, citing sustained calm along the border and expanding practical cooperation between the two states.
Aliyev pointed to the trilateral declaration signed in Washington with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and U.S. President Donald Trump as the decisive political turning point.
Since then, he said, there have been no shootings, casualties, or injuries along the frontier for more than six months.
Azerbaijan has also lifted transit restrictions on Armenian goods and begun supplying Armenia with certain petroleum products, steps Aliyev described as evidence that the region is already operating in a de-facto peace environment.
Peace treaty tied to constitutional revision
Despite this stabilization, Aliyev stressed that a formal peace agreement depends on changes to Armenia’s constitution, which he said still contains language interpreted by Baku as a territorial claim related to Karabakh.
He indicated that once such amendments are adopted-potentially through a referendum—the signing of a final treaty could occur quickly, possibly within the current year.
Aliyev drew a distinction between legal normalization and practical normalization, arguing that the latter is already underway.
Expanding U.S. role and regional connectivity
The Azerbaijani leader highlighted a growing strategic alignment with Washington, including a newly signed Strategic Partnership Charter covering defense cooperation, energy, artificial intelligence, investment, and trade.
He also expressed confidence that the proposed transport corridor linking mainland Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan through Armenia-referred to as TRIPP-will be implemented, emphasizing direct U.S. political backing for the project.
Such connectivity, if realized, would reshape regional logistics by integrating the South Caucasus more tightly into Europe-Asia transit routes.
Karabakh prosecutions and reconciliation limits
Addressing prison sentences handed to former leaders of the separatist administration in Karabakh, Aliyev rejected the possibility of amnesty, describing the individuals as responsible for serious war crimes.
He framed international appeals for leniency as incompatible with the scale of alleged offenses, underscoring limits to reconciliation despite broader diplomatic normalization.
At the same time, Aliyev reiterated that ethnic Armenians who lived in Karabakh had been offered citizenship or residency, while stressing that hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis displaced from present-day Armenia should equally retain a right of return.
France relations show cautious reset
Aliyev said tensions with France emerged after Paris supported positions viewed by Baku as pro-separatist during and after the Second Karabakh War.
However, he described a recent meeting with President Emmanuel Macron as constructive, signaling potential normalization if mutual non-interference is maintained.
Strategic reality: post-conflict order taking shape
Aliyev’s remarks reflect a broader shift in the South Caucasus from active conflict toward structured geopolitical competition-centered on legal settlement terms, transport integration, and great-power alignment.
While a final treaty remains unsigned, the combination of border stability, economic interaction, and U.S. engagement suggests that the post-war regional order is already consolidating in practice.