Who benefits from the historical status quo of the Armenian-Azerbaijani debate?
26-06-2026 15:43 Armenia Press of Diaspora
1in.am On August 8, 2025, in Washington, the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Ararat Mirzoyan and Jeyhun Bayramov, initialed the agreement on "Peace and Establishment of Relations," the first paragraph of which states: "Confirming that the borders between the former USSR Soviet Socialist Republics have become the international borders of independent states and are recognized as such by the international community, the Parties recognize and will respect each other's sovereignty, territorial integrity, inviolability of international borders, and political independence."
This article is about what? In brief, it essentially states that Armenia and Azerbaijan are "closing" the historical dispute that politically began in 1918 when the Transcaucasian Sejm was dissolved, and Armenians, Georgians, and Azerbaijanis declared state independence.
On October 18, 1991, the Supreme Council of Azerbaijan adopted the constitutional act on "Restoration of State Independence," which states in its preamble that Azerbaijan was "occupied by Tsarist and Bolshevik Russia in 1828 and 1920."
On March 26, 1998, Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev, to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the events that took place in Baku on March 30-31, 1918, signed a decree on "The Genocide of the Azerbaijani People," which states in its preamble: "The signing of the treaties of Gulistan and Turkmenchay in 1813 and 1828 marked the beginning of the division of the Azerbaijani people and the fragmentation of our historical lands."
According to the Treaty of Gulistan, Russia conquered Nagorno-Karabakh, and according to the Treaty of Turkmenchay, the khanates of Yerevan and Nakhchivan. In the context of Heydar Aliyev's decree, these territories are considered "Azerbaijani lands." Thus, if a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan is not signed, and the parties return to "claims," Armenia will "demand" the unification of the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast, while Azerbaijan will "claim at least those parts of Armenian territory that were part of the Yerevan khanate as of 1828."
Who, therefore, benefits more from the historical "status quo" of the Armenian-Azerbaijani dispute?
* This text was automatically translated by Artificial Intelligence (AI).
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