Saturday,
Aliyev, Pashinian Hold U.S.-Mediated Talks
Germany - Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meet in Munich, February 18,
2023.
The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan met in Munich on Saturday for talks
organized by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
“We believe that Armenia and Azerbaijan have a genuinely historic opportunity to
secure enduring peace after more than 30 years of conflict,” Blinken said at the
start of his trilateral meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
“The parties themselves have renewed their focus on the peace process, including
through direct conversation as well as with the EU and ourselves,” he said. “The
United States is committed to doing anything we can to support these efforts,
whether it’s directly with our friends, whether it’s in a trilateral format such
as this or with other international partners.”
Neither Blinken nor the conflicting sides announced any concrete agreements
after the talks held on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
An Armenian government statement said that the three men discussed ongoing
negotiations on an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty as well as transport links
between the two South Caucasus states and a demarcation of their border.
“Prime Minister Pashinian reaffirmed the Armenian side’s determination to
achieve the signing of a treaty that will truly guarantee long-term peace and
stability in the region,” added the statement.
It said Pashinian also “stressed the fact” of Azerbaijan’s two-month blockade of
the sole road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. It did not say whether he
made further progress in Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks conditional on the
lifting of the blockade.
Aliyev told Azerbaijani television that the summit was “constructive.” He spoke
of “progress” in Armenia’s position on the peace treaty sought by Baku.
Aliyev again defended Azerbaijani government-backed protesters blocking the
Lachin corridor to Karabakh on ostensibly environmental grounds. He reportedly
said that Azerbaijan should be able to set up a permanent checkpoint in the
corridor.
The Russian-brokered agreement that stopped the 2020 Armenian-Azerbaijani war
placed Karabakh’s land link with Armenia under the control of Russian
peacekeepers. It also committed Baku to guaranteeing safe passage through it.
Yerevan has repeatedly condemned the blockade as a gross violation of these
provisions.
Pashinian’s previous meeting with Aliyev was hosted by Russia’s President
Vladimir Putin in the Russian city of Sochi in late October. The Armenian and
Azerbaijani leaders were due to meet again in Brussels in early December. Aliyev
cancelled that meeting, objecting to French President Emmanuel Macron’s
participation in it.
EU’s Michel Meets Armenian, Azeri Leaders
Belgium - European Council President Charles Michel speaks to the media as he
arrives for a European Union leaders' summit in Brussels, December 15, 2022.
European Council President Charles Michel has held separate talks with the
leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan on the sidelines of an international security
forum held in Munich.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s office said he discussed with Michel on
Friday the resolution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict and, in particular, a
possible peace treaty between Baku and Yerevan. It cited the European Union’s
top official as saying that the EU will continue to facilitate such an accord.
The two men also discussed the upcoming launch of an EU monitoring mission along
Armenia’s border with Azerbaijan. Baku criticized earlier the EU’s decision to
deploy more than 100 monitors there.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian held what an Armenian government statement
described as an “informal meeting” with Michel in the German city late on
Thursday. They spoke about “regional security,” the short statement said without
elaborating.
Michel, who heads the EU’s top decision-making body, hosted last year a series
of meetings between Aliyev and Pashinian in Brussels. The three leaders as well
as French President Emmanuel Macron were due to meet again in early December.
Aliyev cancelled that meeting, objecting to Macron’s participation in it. He
said France can no longer be an honest broker in Armenian-Azerbaijani peace
talks because of pro-Armenian statements made by Macron and French lawmakers.
Aliyev was reported to tell Michel on Friday that Azerbaijan supports “the
Brussels peace process.”
It remained unclear whether the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders could meet on
the margins of the annual Munich Security Conference. Pashinian’s office said
earlier in the day that no such talks have been scheduled yet.
Aliyev and Pashinian most recently met in the Russian city of Sochi in late
October 31 for talks hosted by Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. The trilateral
talks underlined Russia’s efforts to regain the initiative in the
Nagorno-Karabakh peace process.
Moscow has repeatedly accused the EU and the United States of trying to hijack
the process and use it in the standoff over Ukraine.
The foreign ministers of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan were due to discuss the
Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty at a meeting in Moscow slated for December 23.
Yerevan cancelled it in protest against Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin
corridor.
The Russian Foreign Ministry reiterated on Friday that Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov is still ready to meet with his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts. A
ministry spokeswoman said both conflicting sides are interested in continued
Russian mediation of their peace talks.
Reposted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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