UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres is encouraged by news that long-time foes Armenia and Azerbaijan are ready to sign a peace treaty, his spokesman said Friday."The Secretary-General welcomes the announcements by Armenia and Azerbaijan on the conclusion of negotiations on the draft peace agreement,

TBILISI/BAKU: Armenian and Azerbaijani officials said on Thursday that they had agreed the text of a peace agreement to end nearly four decades

The two South Caucasus nations, former Soviet states, have fought multiple wars since the 1980s when Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnically Armenian region broke away from Azerbaijan.

"Armenia has accepted Azerbaijan's proposals on the two previously unresolved articles of the peace treaty," he said. Armenia's foreign ministry later confirmed that in a statement, saying "negotiations on the draft agreement have been concluded" and "the Peace Agreement is ready for signing".

BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 14. Iran welcomes the agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia on peace deal terms, said Spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry Esmail Baghaei, Trend reports. He welcomed the agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan on the terms of a peace deal, calling it a crucial step toward lasting stability in the South Caucasus.

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.