The talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Tehran, Iran, on October 23, 2023. (Photo: AFP/ VNA)

Under the agreement, Azerbaijan will release 32 Armenian servicemen and Armenia will free two Azerbaijani soldiers.

The two countries have been locked in a decades-long conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, which is situated in Azerbaijan’s territory but is mostly inhabited by Armenian natives.

In a joint statement issued late Thursday night, the two sides said they had agreed to seize “a historic chance to achieve a long-awaited peace in the region” and hoped to sign a peace treaty before the end of the year.