13:07,

YEREVAN, MAY 12, ARMENPRESS. The participation of influential EU members France and Germany in the June 1 meeting between the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Moldova could definitely be a positive contribution,  Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Paruyr Hovhannisyan said at a press conference on May 12.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia and President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan are due to meet  together with President Emmanuel Macron of France and Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, in the margins of the upcoming European Political Community summit in Moldova’s capital Chisinau on 1 June 2023.

The format of the five-sided meeting in Chisinau will be the same as in Prague, when President of the European Council Charles Michel hosted the quadrilateral talks, but this year the German Chancellor will also participate.

Azerbaijan announced this week that they don’t have a final decision about their participation in the Chisinau meeting, but gave consent to an “informal meeting”, as long as it doesn’t replace the Brussels format.

In this regard Hovhannisyan said that there are no changes in the format. “We have a number of different formats. It’s about advancing the process, there hasn’t been any talk about creating any new format,” he said.

Asked whether or not Azerbaijan’s condition for participating in the talks is due to the German and French leaders’ participation, Hovhannisyan said: “The participation of Germany and France can definitively have positive contribution. They are the more influential countries of the EU.”

Armenia has confirmed readiness to participate in the Chisinau meeting.

Pashinyan and Aliyev are scheduled to meet on May 14 in Brussels. Then, foreign ministerial talks are scheduled for May 19 in Moscow. The Chisinau meeting is expected on June 1.