Azerbaijan lauds Pope Francis's role in advancing peace talks with Armenia

In a recent interview with the Vatican's information agency "Servizio Informazione Religiosa", Elchin Amirbayov, the representative of the President of Azerbaijan for special assignments, expressed deep gratitude for the attention given by His Majesty Pope Francis to the pursuit of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

"We highly appreciate the attention shown by His Majesty Pope Francis to the achievement of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan," he said, APA reports.

He said the dialogue between Baku and Yerevan continues in various forms and in a positive spirit.

"It should be emphasised that about two years ago it was Azerbaijan that initiated the peace talks and the draft peace treaty, and since then important progress has been made in the peace process.

Recent positive developments have been possible since Azerbaijan fully restored its sovereignty and territorial integrity last September and regained effective control over the Karabakh region.

Today we believe that together with Armenia we will be able to achieve all the set goals through political means and in a relatively short period of time.

A fortnight ago Armenia agreed to withdraw its forces from four villages in the Gazakh district in north-west Azerbaijan, which had been under occupation for more than thirty years, and immediately after that we started the process of bilateral delimitation and demarcation, which will one day become the state border between our countries," Amirbayov emphasised.

The Representative of the President for Special Assignments also noted that Azerbaijan resolutely continues its large-scale efforts to reconstruct and restore all territories destroyed as a result of thirty years of conflict and illegal occupation.