Aliyev-Pashinyan meeting: What does Yerevan hope for?

Europe Chairman of the Council of the Union Charles Michel Azerbaijan on April 6 and He will meet with Armenian leaders. His spokesman wrote about it on Twitter. This meeting comes at a time when the situation in Karabakh is tense again. Azerbaijani army strengthens on Farrukh mountain Russia The peacekeepers brought additional forces to the village of Farrukh in the area. There are also reports that Armenia has brought new military units to Karabakh through the Lachin corridor. Baku in connection with the destructive actions of Armenia Russia warned peacekeepers.

News leaked to the press from diplomatic sources according toIlham Aliyev at a meeting scheduled for April 6 in Brussels and Nicole Pashinyan on the processes that took place after December 15, security and stability in the South Caucasus and will discuss ways to restore order. It is noted that, one of the main topics of discussion 10 November 2020According to the statement, the communications will be opened. Even after the meeting in Brussels, Pashinyan said in his speech in parliament that, Yeraskh-Julfa-Megri-Horadiz railway in negotiations way An agreement has been reached to open the line.

Ahead of the leaders’ meeting, it was reported that Azerbaijani presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev met with Armenian Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan yesterday.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a government meeting today that, At the upcoming meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Brussels, he hopes to agree on all issues related to the start of the peace talks. He noted that, The Armenian side is committed to proposals to stabilize the situation on the border with Azerbaijan, as well as in Karabakh, where both armed and psychological provocations must end.

The Prime Minister claimed that, Azerbaijan denies demanding the withdrawal of Armenian troops from Karabakh. He reminded that, On November 26, 2021 Russia The President of Azerbaijan made a public statement at the meeting mediated by the President that, 10 All provisions of the November statement must be fulfilled and communications must be opened. “But now Baku is demanding the withdrawal of the Karabakh Defense Army,” he said.

Pashinyan claimed that, Where should the Armenian units come from in the tripartite statement and clearly indicated where to stay:

“From our point of view, prisoners of war, hostages and The issue of extradition of other detainees has not been fully resolved. We are continuing our work in this regard. All this shows, including Aliyev’s previous statements that, The demand for the withdrawal of the Armenian army is far from reality. Withdrawal of the defense army from Nagorno-Karabakh will mean the withdrawal of the Armenians and Azerbaijan pursues these goals. Recent events have shown that, Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians need protection, otherwise they will be subjected to genocide. Earlier, the Armenian side did not cross the line of contact, as well as the parties, to withdraw military positions from its perimeter. and proposed to define the obligation to create a demilitarized zone. This proposal was not accepted. “

Pashinyan further stressed that, Yerevan expects concrete steps from Russian peacekeepers to withdraw Azerbaijani forces to their previous positions in Karabakh. He claimed that, Tensions in Farrukh arose as a result of breach of agreements:

“This agreement was to be secured by the Russian peacekeeping contingent. Armenians withdrew from several positions and the peacekeepers entered, but their eyes snowIn the spring, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces entered their area of ​​responsibility. we expect that, The withdrawal of the Azerbaijani peacekeeping contingent from its zone of responsibility and 10 “November will take concrete steps to restore the status quo mentioned in the statement.”

The Prime Minister claimed that, The goal of Azerbaijan’s policy is to complete ethnic cleansing in Karabakh.

Thus, even if official Yerevan agrees to the Brussels meeting, its position is constructive and far from an agreement. So what can we expect from this meeting?

Political scientist Farhad Mammadov was first in Brussels Europe Azerbaijan with a representative of the Union and He recalled that the personal representatives of the Armenian leaders met in private: “It simply came to our notice then that, This format was agreed during the Aliyev-Pashinyan meeting in Brussels in December last year. Because it is important for leaders to prepare for the meeting. In the past, their reunion was considered a diplomatic achievement. Now they are reconciling positions and exchanging views on topical issues that, leaders should not waste time and pay more attention to the discussion of content topics “.

The expert recalls that, Charles Michel Ilham Aliyev at a meeting held on December 15 last year and In a statement after the meeting between Pashinyan, he listed the main topics of discussion as follows:

“- Opening of communications. In his statement, Michel stressed the sovereignty of the countries over communications and Europe He promised financial and institutional support for the union. But so far there is no decision on this issue. On the contrary, to the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan and then the railway to Turkey way and car has chosen Iran as its main transit partner.

– The European Union would provide technical support to the demarcation process. No progress has been made on this issue in the past.

– Humanitarian issues, information about captives / saboteurs, Azerbaijanis missing from the first Karabakh war and There is no special progress in supporting the missions of international organizations, on the contrary, the parties have more claims to each other.

– Signing a peace agreement. Although there is little talk about it, the activity has increased compared to December last year.

According to F. Mammadov according toto our region in the world since December last year and Many changes have taken place that affect our relations. The expert added that, Initiative of the European Union to maintain the role of moderator Azerbaijan and Accepted by Armenian leaders: “Because the other snowTrilateral cooperation formats – Azerbaijan Russia Armenia, trilateral intergovernmental commission, Georgia-US mediation, action and does not demonstrate initiatives. They are now more at war. After announcing the date of the leaders’ meeting in Brussels last year, Moscow tried to hold a trilateral meeting before that. In the current situation, ie after April 6, the Prime Minister of Armenia plans to fly to Moscow in the second decade of the month.

Farhad Mammadov says that, The role of the European Union in the process is still unclear: “It is not a guarantor of agreements, because such mechanisms do not exist at all. Or, in theory, it can be agreed to create conditions for decision-making in a bilateral format. This may be different from the trilateral format in which Russia participates. Let me emphasize that, the parties themselves with each other snowIf they are not interested in creating alternative formats for communication, the European Union Azerbaijan and He said he would pay such high attention to Armenian relations and I think you will support the initiatives. In other words, it reminds us that there are still alternatives to Russia’s role as the main mediator, or that the parties will have a direct dialogue without a mediator. way go to one-on-one meetings to achieve their goals. In any case, the agenda does not change – a peace agreement, the opening of communications and clarification of borders. But the order is changing: first what issue needs to be resolved – a peace agreement, then infrastructure and or infrastructure, then a peace treaty? The main achievement is to increase the dynamics of the process in the new conditions “.

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