Flags of Azerbaijan (left) and Armenia at a checkpoint in the border area between the two countries, June 18, 2021. (Source: AFP)

Speaking on Armenian national television, Mr. Grigoryan affirmed that the negotiation process is being carried out in a very positive manner.

“If we can maintain this intensity and get strong support from the international community to make progress, then there will be a chance of a peace agreement by the end of this year,” the Armenian security official said.

Earlier, on June 3, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev had a brief conversation at the inauguration ceremony of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara.

On June 1, the two sides also met near the Moldovan capital Chisinau to discuss the peace process and border demarcation.

Russia, the United States and the European Union (EU) are all trying to promote the goal of building lasting peace between Armenia and neighboring Azerbaijan, which have been locked in two conflicts over the past 30 years, over the territorial dispute in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Nagorno-Karabakh is a region located deep in the southwestern territory of Azerbaijan, but has a majority population of Armenian origin and wants to annex it.

Rising tensions between the two neighbors culminated in a conflict that lasted from February 1988 to May 1994.

Since 2008, Azerbaijan and Armenia have held dozens of high-level meetings, but have failed to find a suitable settlement to issues including border demarcation and prisoner exchange.

Relations between the two countries became even more tense after on April 23, Azerbaijan established a checkpoint on the only land route (Lachin Corridor) passing through its territory and connecting Armenia with the Nagorno-Karabakh region.