Azerbaijan says conditions 'created' for Armenia peace deal

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Wednesday said conditions for a peace treaty with arch foe Armenia had been "created", adding that he did not want another war.

The two Caucasus neighbours and historical foes have fought two wars over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region during the past three decades, with Baku retaking control of the territory in a one-day offensive last fall.

Peace talks -- mediated separately by the European Union, the United States and Russia -- have sputtered, despite both countries saying an agreement could be signed by the end of last year.

"The most important thing today is that real conditions have been created for a signing of a peace treaty," Aliyev said in a televised interview.

"That's why we need to actively work on the text," he said.

In December, the two countries swapped prisoners of war, which was a seen as a first step toward normalising relations. But numerous issues remain unresolved and clashes break out regularly along the border.

Aliyev said he was "certain that there will not be a new war" with Armenia.

"I will do everything in my power to prevent it. Enough, enough of wars," he said.

But he once again lashed out at France, accusing it of causing "the deterioration of the situation in the Caucasus" by "preparing (Armenia)" for a new war by providing it with weapons.

Earlier on Wednesday, Azerbaijan's foreign ministry told Paris not to "intervene" in its internal affairs after Azerbaijan arrested a Frenchman on espionage charges, in what France has called an "arbitrary" detention.

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 their arms.

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 had long been seen as unresolvable and which led to two wars -- in 2020 and the 1990s -- that claimed tens of thousands of lives from both sides.