"It was a historic achievement that the two countries initialed a peace agreement in August last year, thus ending more than thirty years of war and bloodshed."
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said this in his speech at a panel discussion on "Defining the Economic Identity of Eurasia" held within the framework of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, APA's correspondent in Davos reports.
“The uniqueness of this peace agreement is that it was signed less than two years after the last bloody clash. So, this shows that if both sides have a strong political will and a commitment to peace, you can make peace in a relatively short time. What was signed today is turning into practical results. We have not only been living in peace for only five or six months, but we are enjoying this situation. Neither Armenia nor Azerbaijan have ever lived in peace as independent countries. When we became independent in 1991, we were already in a military conflict. But today the benefits of peace are reflected in the beginning of cooperation. First, important products, oil products, are being transported from Azerbaijan. And that in itself lowers prices. So, maybe two or three years ago this was completely unthinkable. But today it is a reality. And I think that nothing can hinder this process. What we need to do more, I think, is for both sides to demonstrate the results of living in peace so that we can witness the full support of our societies for this process. But I am very optimistic, "Because, in fact, what was achieved brought great benefits to Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the South Caucasus, and this is an example of how countries that had very deep, hostile relations have now transitioned to a stage of cooperation," the head of state noted.
