Moscow, 25 May 2023 (dpa/MIA) – The hostile former Soviet republics Armenia and Azerbaijan want to settle their dispute over the contested region of Nagorno-Karabakh in the South Caucasus after decades of fighting.

In Moscow on Thursday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan reiterated his announcement this week that his country would recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan and would open all transport links.

"I think there is a possibility of a peace agreement - especially in view of the fact that Armenia has officially recognized Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan," Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in response.

Aliyev and Pashinyan were to meet in the evening, mediated by Russian President Vladimir Putin, to possibly hammer out the peace agreement. It was initially unclear whether this would succeed.

The leadership of the internationally unrecognized region of Nagorno-Karabakh is not at the table. After the last war in 2020, Putin brokered a ceasefire and sent 2,000 Russian soldiers to the region to enforce the agreement. Nevertheless, bloody battles broke out again and again.

Large parts of the Armenian population are also against giving up the disputed region.

"I want to confirm that Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed to mutual recognition of each other's territorial integrity," Pashinyan said. "And on this basis we can say that we are quite well on the way to settling our relations."

Aliyev confirmed that there was a chance of normalizing the relationship. Putin had said the settlement was possible because it was in the interest of the economic development of both sides.