- Plan to overturn commercial whaling moratorium sinks in Peru
- Man City must solve Rodri riddle, Ten Hag vexed by Man Utd miscues
- Ricciardo thanks fans for 'wild' ride after RB axing
- US regulator urges safety checks on some Boeing 737 rudders
- Scheffler-Kim spat spices 5-0 US rout to open Presidents Cup
- 'I need to go': Floridians make final preparations for Hurricane Helene
- Somali-Canadian rapper K'naan accused of sexual assault
- Japan ruling party votes for next PM
- Macron, Trudeau pledge common front on economy, language
- Harris slams Ukraine 'surrender' policy with Trump confirming Zelensky meet
- Drought reduces Amazon River in Colombia by as much as 90%: report
- Athletics pay emotional farewell to Oakland in last home game before move
- Stay or go? Pacific Islanders face climate's grim choice
- Americans sweep four-balls to grab 5-0 lead at Presidents Cup
- Armenian PM says peace with Azerbaijan 'within reach'
- Israel defies ceasefire calls and vows to keep battling Hezbollah
- 'Stir crazy' McKeown breaks 100m backstroke short-course world record
- Ten-man Spurs cruise in Europa League opener despite Son injury scare
- Iran shows 'willingness' to re-engage on nuclear issue: IAEA chief to AFP
- Somali-Canadian rapper K'naan accused of sexual asault
- Harris slams Ukraine 'surrender' policy as Zelensky visits White House
- Florida bracing for 'unsurvivable' Hurricane Helene
- Teenager seeking to halt Ohtani 50-50 ball auction
- Poverty rises to over 52 percent in Milei's Argentina
- Packers clash awaits for 'late developer' Darnold
- Israel pours cold water on US-backed call for ceasefire with Hezbollah
- US, allies urge pressure on Venezuela's Maduro after disputed vote
- Zelensky meets Biden after US unveils Ukraine military aid surge
- Chloe's see-through look may not be for Kamala Harris
- Champagne houses abuzz over English sparkling wine
- Eric Adams, New York's criminally charged mayor of 'swagger'
- Ten Hag says lack of goals Manchester United's biggest problem
- Macron, Trudeau pledge to work for 'decarbonized' economies
- Emotional Almodovar wins lifetime award at San Sebastian festival
- Putin rachets up nuclear rhetoric, but is he ready to act?
- Former MVP Derrick Rose retires from NBA
- England's Hull out of Pakistan tour
- US urges pressure on Venezuela's Maduro after disputed vote
- US announces new half billion dollars for Syria aid
- Lawson to replace Ricciardo at RB F1 team for rest of season
- New York mayor charged with years of bribery, fraud
- Hurricanes, storms, typhoons... Is September wetter than usual?
- Myanmar junta invites armed groups to stop fighting, start talks
- Kenya set for full Haiti deployment amid call for shift to UN mission
- Argentina change seven of team that beat Springboks for rematch
- China stimulus, tech optimism boost stock markets
- 'Unsurvivable' Hurricane Helene races towards Florida
- Marsh adamant Australia have 'moved on' from Lord's row
- Monet's odes to London's 'beautiful' smog appear in city
- Pakistan braces for 'transitional pain' as IMF approves $7 bn loan
Armenian PM says peace with Azerbaijan 'within reach'
Armenia's prime minister said Thursday that peace with Azerbaijan was "within reach," appealing to his neighbor to sign a treaty to turn the page on decades of conflict.
Exactly a year after Azerbaijan triumphed in a lightning military offensive, Armenia promised to meet a key demand of its historic rival: to ensure travel links.
"Today I want to say that peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan not only is possible, but is within reach," Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in an address to the United Nations General Assembly.
"All we need to do is reach out and take it," he said.
"The pain is very deep and intense, but we must now focus on peace, because peace is the only truth understandable to the people of Armenia and Azerbaijan," he said.
The two former Soviet republics had seen decades of war and tension over Nagorno-Karabakh, a breakaway ethnic Armenian region in Azerbaijan.
After a series of slow-moving negotiations, Azerbaijan rushed in troops last year and swiftly seized back Nagorno-Karabakh, whose entire population of nearly 120,000 people fled to Armenia.
Facing a weaker hand and the lack of intervention by Armenia's historic ally Russia, Pashinyan has insisted on the need for peace but faced protests from nationalists opposed to compromise.
In his UN address, Pashinyan said he was ready to meet the Baku government's key demand of allowing transportation access across Armenian soil to the exclave of Nakhchivan, letting Azerbaijan connect its main territory with its traditional ally Turkey.
"The Republic of Armenia is ready to fully ensure the safety of the passage of cargo vehicles and people on its territory. It is our wish, our commitment, and we can do it," Pashinyan said, saying it could become a "crossroads of peace."
- Issues resolved by treaty? -
Another key sticking point is Azerbaijan's objections to a section of the Armenian constitution that speaks of uniting with Nagorno-Karabakh.
Pashinyan said that Armenia had its own issues with Azerbaijan's constitution but that it did not see any obstacle as a peace agreement "solves the problem."
Azerbaijan and Armenia both say that 80 percent of a treaty is ready, including border delineation, but Azerbaijan first wants a resolution of all issues.
Some diplomats view Azerbaijani strongman Ilham Aliyev's stance as cynical, considering the difficulty that Pashinyan would have in changing the constitution.
The diplomats say Azerbaijan believes it can afford to wait as it has the clear upper hand, with its wealth from gas, a modernized military bolstered by Turkish weapons, and a rising international profile, with Baku in November the host of the COP29 climate summit.
Pashinyan insisted that Azerbaijan and Armenia should sign the draft treaty immediately, explaining, "There is no precedent of a peace agreement or any agreement that would regulate and solve everything."
A treaty and diplomatic relations would improve "the overall atmosphere" between the two countries, which will "significantly facilitate the solution of the remaining issues," Pashinyan said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met the two countries' foreign ministers on Thursday in New York.
Blinken "encouraged continued progress by both countries to finalize an agreement as soon as possible," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
C.Garcia--AMWN