“Nothing now stands in the way of signing, ratifying and implementing the peace treaty,” Steinmeier said after talks with this Armenian counterpart Vahagn Khachaturian. “In that regard, Armenia has made decisions that have made the peace treaty possible, and now the Azerbaijani side must stop being skeptical.”
“We can say that it was not easy for Armenia to settle this issue. Many countries can follow its example,” he told a joint news conference.
Steinmeier, who has largely ceremonial powers, met with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian later in the day. He is scheduled to proceed to Baku and hold talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev later this week.
Germany’s outgoing Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock likewise praised the Armenian government on March 14 for accepting Baku’s proposals regarding the conflicting sides’ remaining differences on the text of the draft treaty. Baerbock said the breakthrough was made possible by Yerevan’s “courageous concessions.” Like senior European Union and U.S. officials, she urged the two sides to swiftly sign the document.
Baku has set a number of conditions for that, notably a change of Armenia’s constitution which it says contains territorial claims to Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry reiterated earlier on Monday that the constitution is “the main obstacle” to peace.
Armenian opposition leaders say Baku will not sign the peace deal before clinching further concessions from Yerevan.