On July 16 the Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia, Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, and Minister Ararat Mirzoyan visited Georgia to meet with each other in a meeting hosted by the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to discuss stability and peace in the region. The pair also held separate meetings with Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili.
The Georgian MFA welcomed the visit and underscored “its commitment to contribute, through joint efforts, to peace and stability in the region.”
The Ministry expressed hope that through “concerted efforts to ensure peaceful coexistence in the South Caucasus and stable development of the region, it will become possible to solve various issues on the agenda, create positive dynamics and develop the potential of the region.”
The Armenian Foreign Ministry stated after the meetings that a wide range of issues was discussed aimed at “normalizing” relations between the two nations.
During the meeting, Minister Mirzoyan reiterated the significance of resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict for achieving sustainable peace and underscored the need for using the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship towards this end. The Armenian FM stressed the need to resolve humanitarian issues regarding the release of Armenian prisoners of war and the issue of missing persons.
For its part, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry highlighted the need to fully implement the Trilateral Statement, signed by leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Russia, for “building good neighborly inter-state relations” between the two. Minister Bayramov also raised the issue of people who remain missing from the Azeri side after the conflict.
Both Ministers expressed gratitude for Tbilisi hosting the meeting and interest in continuing dialogue between their countries.
Meetings with Georgian PM
Prior to the meeting, both the Armenian and Azerbaijani FMs had the opportunity to meet with PM Garibashvili to discuss relations in the country and Georgia’s Peaceful Neighborhood Initiative, a platform it proposed for confidence-building in the South Caucasus with the participation of Armenia, Azerbaijan, the U.S., and the EU.
The Georgian PM underscored the need to “bolster the dialogues positive dynamic further” while meeting with Minister Mirzoyan. The pair also discussed how to build on areas of economic and bilateral trade.
With FM Bayramov, PM Garibashvili discussed the situation in the region and relevant challenges. The pair also touched on developing Georgia’s relationship with Azerbaijan, especially in the areas of transportation and energy.