Two Countries Relations Have Improved

  A freight train carrying 22 tanker cars filled with gasoline departed from Azerbaijan on the 18th and will pass through Georgia on its way to Armenia. This is the first time that Azerbaijan has exported oil products to Armenia since the war broke out over the issue of the ownership of the Nagorno-Karabakh (NKA) region.

  According to Azerbaijani media reports, the gasoline being shipped to Armenia is produced by the Azerbaijan National Oil Company and will be exported to Armenia at international market prices. This gasoline trade was conducted in accordance with the relevant agreement reached between the two governments in November this year.

 Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan confirmed to the media on the 18th that a train carrying Azerbaijani gasoline did indeed depart for Armenia that day. He welcomed Afang's move. He said that the peace established between the two countries has created the political conditions for this kind of trade.

 After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan and Armenia went to war over the issue of the ownership of the Nagorno-Karabakh region. In 2023, the two parties issued a joint statement, reaffirming their intention to normalize relations and reach a peace agreement on the basis of respecting the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity. On August 8 of this year, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a draft of the "Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and Inter-State Relations Between Azerbaijan and Armenia." Since then, relations between the two countries have continued to improve. In October this year, both countries announced that they would no longer restrict the transit of goods sent to each other's country.