Azerbaijan has formally called for compensation from Armenia tied to the use of energy resources and has initiated an interstate arbitration case against Yerevan, as reported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic. The measure signals Baku’s position that energy resources in the region were affected by actions during the long conflict and seeks redress for those effects. [Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic]
Baku contends that compensation is owed for violations of Azerbaijan sovereign rights over its energy resources during the nearly three decades of occupation from the early 1990s through 2020. The Azerbaijani side asserts that the occupation disrupted control and exploitation of energy assets within Azerbaijani territory, laying the groundwork for the arbitration case. [Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic]
Former Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Ceyhun Bayramov stated that Yerevan has shown reluctance to engage in direct negotiations with Baku. He relayed to reporters that the parties have shifted to a mode described as online diplomacy where terms are exchanged through digital channels. [Source: Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry interview]
In another development, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan took part in a trilateral discussion with United States Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev during the Munich Security Conference. Pashinyan’s office indicated that the participants reviewed the status of work on the text of a potential peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan. [Source: Armenian Prime Minister’s Office]