Yerevan /Mediamax/. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that “what happened in Washington on August 8 marks the end of the confrontation and a way out of the deadlock.”

In an interview with Al Arabiya TV, the full text of which is provided by Trend, Aliyev said, in particular:

“The negotiations lasted several years and concluded in Washington with the active support of President Trump and his team. I believe this truly marks the end of the conflict, the end of the war. Formally, the peace agreement was not signed for one specific reason: Armenia’s constitution still contains a provision that questions Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity.

As far as we understand, they will make an amendment. And as soon as this constitutional amendment is adopted, as soon as territorial claims against Azerbaijan are withdrawn, an official peace agreement will be signed.”

Asked about the possible impact of the domestic political situation in Armenia on the process, Aliyev said:

“It is hard to say, but I can only guess and hope that nothing will obstruct this process. I have no absolute guarantee, as I am not very familiar with Armenia’s domestic politics. We know that parliamentary elections will be held there next summer. And we know that they are working on a draft of a new constitution. If there is strong external interference, then yes, this could disrupt previously agreed issues. But this would be very damaging to Armenia itself. Regardless of who signed the documents in Washington, they were signed on behalf of Armenia by its leader. If something happens there, something changes and they backtrack, it will seriously damage relations between Armenia and the United States. Not only the United States, but the entire international community supported this process, including the European Union, Turkey, and our friends in the Arab countries.

In other words, if any future Armenian government, regardless of when it comes to power, questions what was signed in Washington, Armenia will face serious consequences, as the balance of power in the region is entirely in our favor. I think this is obvious to everyone, and if Armenia again questions our territorial integrity, we will respond accordingly.

The importance of the document signed in Washington is that both sides recognize each other’s territorial integrity and agree to build future relations on this fundamental principle of international law. Therefore, if Armenia refuses to recognize our territorial integrity, we will no longer recognize theirs.

I believe any future government of Armenia will show sufficient wisdom and a reasonable approach so as not to undermine the agreements reached in Washington. And again: this is an agreement between two states - it is not an agreement between me and Pashinyan,” Aliyev emphasized.