Arch-foes Armenia and Azerbaijan jointly announced Thursday they are going to seize "a historical chance to achieve a long-awaited peace in the region."

The Caucasus neighbors, which have been locked in a decades-long conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, also said they would exchange prisoners of war as they work towards normalizing relations.

"The two countries reconfirm their intention to normalize relations and to reach the peace treaty on the basis of respect for the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity," the statement said.

Baku will free 32 Armenian prisoners of war, while Yerevan will release two Azerbaijani servicemen, according to the statement.

The two countries also said they "will continue their discussions regarding the implementation of more confidence building measures, effective in the near future, and call on the international community to support their efforts."

The agreements were reached during talks between the office of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the administration of Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev.

Aliyev sent troops to Karabakh on 19 September 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 over the following days, sparking a refugee crisis.

Azerbaijan's victory marked the end of the territorial dispute, which saw Azerbaijan and Armenia fight two wars in 2020 and the 1990s that claimed tens of thousands of lives from both sides.                              

WITH AFP