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Political analyst Sergey Markedonov, a leading researcher at the MGIMO Institute of International Studies, says it is “still early” to talk about the end of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan despite Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s claims that a peace deal between the two countries may be within reach. 

Speaking in the Armenian parliament on Monday, Pashinyan said Armenia and Azerbaijan had agreed on three key principles of a bilateral peace treaty.

“If the sides remain committed to these principles, the signing of an agreement on peace and settlement of relations will be realistic,” he added.

The three principles include mutual recognition of each other’s territorial integrity, delimitation of their shared border based on the Alma-Ata Declaration and unblocking of regional communications, the premier detailed.

In an analysis on Monday, Markedonov underscored that the statements on commitment to the Alma-Ata Declaration and Pashinyan’s recognition of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity of 86,600 sq. km which included Nagorno-Karabakh last year failed to stop the third Karabakh war.

“As a result, the military settlement plan of the conflict prevailed,” he wrote.

“In brief, it is probably premature to jump to conclusions about the end of one of the long-standing conflicts in Eurasia. But it is not excluded that a document called a peace treaty will appear soon. But for now, the question remains open whether it will bring real peace to the turbulent region," the analyst said.