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Armenia, Azerbaijan Agree to Take Steps towards Normalization

Azerbaijan holds a November military parade in Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijani Presidential Press Office/AFP/File
Azerbaijan holds a November military parade in Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijani Presidential Press Office/AFP/File
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Armenia, Azerbaijan Agree to Take Steps towards Normalization

Azerbaijan holds a November military parade in Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijani Presidential Press Office/AFP/File
Azerbaijan holds a November military parade in Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijani Presidential Press Office/AFP/File

Arch-foes Armenia and Azerbaijan said Thursday they would exchange prisoners of war and work towards normalizing their relations, in a joint statement hailed by the European Union and the United States as a breakthrough after three decades of conflict over disputed territory.
The Caucasus neighbors have long fought over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which Azerbaijan reclaimed after a lightning offensive against Armenian separatists in September.
Both countries have said a peace agreement could be signed by the end of the year, but peace talks -- mediated separately by the European Union, the United States and Russia -- have seen little progress.
The two sides agreed in Thursday's joint statement to seize "a historical chance to achieve a long-awaited peace in the region".
"The two countries reconfirm their intention to normalize relations and to reach the peace treaty," the statement said.
Baku will free 32 Armenian prisoners of war, while Yerevan will release two Azerbaijani servicemen, according to the statement.
They also agreed to continue discussions on "more confidence building measures, effective in the near future".
COP29
As a sign of good faith, Armenia announced it was withdrawing its bid to host UN-led climate talks next year, paving the way for Azerbaijan's candidacy.
The annual negotiations on fighting climate change, known as COPs, rotate among regions and were due to be hosted by an Eastern European country in 2024 after this year's COP28 in Dubai.
"As a sign of good gesture, the Republic of Armenia supports the bid of the Republic of Azerbaijan to host (COP29) by withdrawing its own candidacy," the statement read.
"Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan do hope that the other countries within the Eastern European Group will also support Azerbaijan's bid to host."
A grouping of Eastern European nations must unanimously choose the COP29 host, but Russia is reportedly opposing an EU member holding the event as tensions with the bloc run high during the war in Ukraine.
Non-EU countries Armenia and Azerbaijan were both seen as candidates, but Baku's offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh has escalated tensions with Moscow.
'Key step'
Armenia's foreign ministry said Yerevan had "responded positively to the offer of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to organize the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Washington".
EU Council President Charles Michel praised the statement, calling it a "key step".
"Delighted to welcome a major breakthrough in Armenia-Azerbaijan relations as they issue a joint statement," he wrote on social media.
The United States also welcomed the steps by the two countries.
"This commitment represents an important confidence building measure as the sides work to finalize a peace agreement and normalize relations," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement Thursday.
Stalled talks
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev have met several times for normalization talks mediated by the EU.
But the process stalled over the last two months as two negotiation rounds failed to take place.
Azerbaijan refused to participate in talks with Armenia that were planned in the United States on November 20, over what it said was Washington's "biased" position.
In October, Aliyev declined to attend negotiations with Pashinyan in Spain, that time accusing France of bias.
French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had been scheduled to join Michel as mediators at those talks.
There has been no visible progress so far in EU efforts to organize a fresh round of negotiations.
The traditional regional power broker Russia has seen its influence wane in the Caucasus.
Aliyev sent troops to Karabakh on September 19, and after just one day of fighting, Armenian separatist forces that had controlled the disputed region for three decades laid down arms and agreed to reintegrate with Baku.
Almost the entire Armenian population of the mountainous enclave -- more than 100,000 people -- fled Karabakh for Armenia, sparking a refugee crisis.
Azerbaijan's victory marked the end of the territorial dispute, which led to two wars in 2020 and the 1990s that claimed tens of thousands of lives from both sides.

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Trump’s UN Envoy Pick Waltz Says US Needs Strong Voice to Counter China

Former National Security Advisor Mike Waltz waits for the start of his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to be ambassador to the United Nations (UN) in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC, USA, 15 July 2025. (EPA)
Former National Security Advisor Mike Waltz waits for the start of his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to be ambassador to the United Nations (UN) in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC, USA, 15 July 2025. (EPA)
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Trump’s UN Envoy Pick Waltz Says US Needs Strong Voice to Counter China

Former National Security Advisor Mike Waltz waits for the start of his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to be ambassador to the United Nations (UN) in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC, USA, 15 July 2025. (EPA)
Former National Security Advisor Mike Waltz waits for the start of his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to be ambassador to the United Nations (UN) in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC, USA, 15 July 2025. (EPA)

The United Nations needs reform and the United States must have a strong voice to counter China, Mike Waltz, US President Donald Trump's pick to be his UN envoy, said on Tuesday, adding that he is "confident we can make the UN great again."

Waltz - a retired Army Green Beret and former Republican lawmaker from Florida - is one of the last major Trump nominees awaiting likely confirmation by the US Senate. He appeared before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday as part of that process.

"We should have one place in the world where everyone can talk, where China, Russia, Europe, the developing world can come together and resolve conflicts" Waltz told the committee. "But after 80 years, it's drifted from its core mission of peacemaking. We must return to the UN's charter and first principles."

His remarks largely echoed what Trump has said about the world body.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced in March that he was seeking ways to improve efficiency and cut costs as the UN turns 80 this year amid a cash crisis.

"The UN has ballooned to over 80 agencies with overlapping missions that waste resources and, if confirmed, I'll push for transparency, like what we're seeing in the Secretary-General's UN80 reform plan calling for a 20% staff cut," Waltz said.

He said UN peacekeeping plays an important role, but also needs reform.

Washington is the UN's largest contributor - followed by China - accounting for 22% of the core UN budget and 27% of the peacekeeping budget.

The UN has said the US currently owes a total of $2.8 billion, of which $1.5 billion is for the regular budget. These payments are not voluntary.

The United States was also one of the world's largest humanitarian aid donors, but the Trump administration has slashed billions of dollars in foreign assistance, including to UN agencies.

'BLOCK AND TACKLE'

Waltz was Trump's national security adviser until he was ousted on May 1 after he was caught up in a March scandal involving a Signal chat among top Trump national security aides. Trump then promptly nominated Waltz as his UN ambassador.

"The use of Signal was not only authorized, it's still authorized, and highly recommended," Waltz said on Tuesday. He later clarified it was not authorized for sharing classified information and that no classified information had been shared in the March Signal chat.

Waltz repeated long-held US criticisms of the UN - that Washington pays too much at the 193-member world body, that it is anti-Israel and that China is building too much influence.

"We have to block and tackle Chinese influence," Waltz said. "America must have a strong voice and, if confirmed, I'll work with Secretary (of State Marco) Rubio to challenge this influence."

Since beginning his second term in January, Trump has maintained the wary stance on multilateralism that was a hallmark of his first term between 2017 and 2021.

So far, Trump has stopped US engagement with the UN Human Rights Council, extended a halt to funding for the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA and ordered a review of the UN cultural agency UNESCO. He has also announced plans to quit the Paris climate deal and the World Health Organization.

When asked about Waltz's confirmation hearing, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday: "Our message to all member states is: if you're not fully pleased with what's going on in this organization, engage with the other member states in this organization."