Armenia’s foreign minister, Ararat Mirzoyan, has confirmed the cancellation of a scheduled meeting between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. The much-anticipated meeting, which was intended to take place in late October, was set to discuss the signing of a treaty aimed at ending the longstanding conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. The region, recently recaptured by Azerbaijan, has been a major source of contention, leading to a mass exodus of its ethnic Armenian population, estimated to be around 120,000.
According to Mirzoyan, the abrupt cancellation was due to the Azerbaijani President pulling out of the meeting. In a news conference held in Yerevan, Mirzoyan stated, “You asked who did not find the time. Obviously, it was the president of Azerbaijan,” as quoted by the Russian state news agency TASS. He further expressed his hope that the issue was indeed a matter of scheduling and affirmed Armenia’s readiness to participate in the meeting.
The cancellation was also confirmed by EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus, Toivo Klaar. He revealed that the European Union is actively working towards establishing a new date for the meeting. As of now, there has been no comment from Azerbaijan regarding the cancellation.
Prior to this, Mirzoyan had met with his Azerbaijani counterpart in Iran for talks, marking the first meeting between the two countries’ representatives since Azerbaijan regained control over Nagorno-Karabakh. The talks, which also involved the foreign ministers of Russia and Turkey, were viewed as an important step towards resolving the conflict.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian referred to the initiative as a “historic opportunity” for the countries in the region to foster peace and cooperation. Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that the key issue, the ownership of Karabakh, had been resolved, setting the stage for a peace treaty.
However, Russia’s role as a security mediator between the two former Soviet republics has been somewhat compromised due to the demands and distractions of its war in Ukraine. This has led to a decrease in its influence in the South Caucasus.
Nagorno-Karabakh, despite being internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, had been under the control of separatist ethnic Armenian authorities since the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s. Following Azerbaijan’s recent recapture of the region, accusations of ethnic cleansing have emerged from Armenia. However, Azerbaijan maintains that the ethnic Armenians left voluntarily and are welcome to return.
