But hurdles remain. Azerbaijan also said Armenia’s constitution must “eliminate the claims against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan,” as a prerequisite to allow for the signing of the peace treaty.

Armenian and Azerbaijani officials said on Thursday that they had agreed the text of a peace agreement to end nearly four decades of conflict between the South Caucasus countries, a sudden breakthrough in a fitful and often bitter peace process.

The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset, has welcomed the announcements of Armenia and Azerbaijan on the finalisation of negotiations on the draft Agreement on Peace and Establishment of Interstate Relations.