The following is the text of unattributed report published on the website of the Armenian Internet news agency News.am on 26 January headlined "Expert: The fact that meetings between Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders are unscheduled causes concern":
The fact that meetings between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev] are unscheduled causes concern, political analyst Aghasi Yenokyan has told News Armenia – News.am.
He said that it was the format of the meetings that caused concern, not the meetings proper.
"Such meetings must be organised by the OSCE Minsk Group [the USA, France, and Russia that mediate in the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Azerbaijan's breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh]," he noted.
The expert stressed that it is unclear why such meetings were to be held just for the sake of conversations.
"I do not think that Nikol Pashinyan and Ilham Aliyev are close friends and they met to discuss personal issues. Therefore, it is natural that only issues related to the states and security matters are discussed at the meetings. It causes concern that such serious issues are discussed without preliminary preparations," he noted.
The expert also noted that Nikol Pashinyan's statement that he could not speak on behalf of the republic of Nagorno-Karabakh raised questions.
"This may make you think that an attempt is made to lay all blame for the possible disastrous result of the negotiating process on [Nagorno-Karabakh capital] Stepanakert [Xankandi] and relieve Armenia of some part of responsibility without taking into account Yerevan's role in the conflict. Such an approach may ultimately lead to an impasse in the negotiating process or decisions extremely undesirable for us. If we adhere to the principle that Azerbaijan must hold negotiations with Karabakh, Baku may simply reject them [negotiations] and use force," he noted.
Aghasi Yenokyan added that although Nikol Pashinyan did not say in his speeches that Armenia was the guarantor of security of the republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, in one way or another, Armenia assumed responsibility for the resolution of the conflict by participating in the negotiations.
We would like to remind you that at his briefing in Moscow held after the Eurasian Council in Moscow on 25 January, answering a question of journalists on the results of his meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that no results were planned and it would not be ethical to reveal details of the conversation.
At the same time, Nikol Pashinyan stressed that he talked with Ilham Aliyev only on behalf of Armenia [not Karabakh]. "I have said on many occasions that I can represent Armenia, but not the republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, because citizens of Karabakh have not elected me. They elect their own president and parliament," the Armenian prime minister said in conclusion.
