Azerbaijan’s president refuses to attend EU talks with Armenia PM | EUROtoday
Get real time updates directly on you device, subscribe now.
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has turned down a European assembly in Spain with Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan this week, due to European assist for Yerevan, a authorities official informed AFP on Wednesday.
Issued on:
2 min
Pashinyan later stated he would nonetheless go to the summit of the European Political Community (EPC) in Granada, saying it was a “shame” that the 2 leaders wouldn’t give you the chance to signal a “turning point document” on the contested Karabakh area.
Two weeks in the past, Aliyev launched a one-day offensive that noticed his nation regain management of Nagorno-Karabakh, the house of pro-Armenian separatists.
The talks have been to happen on the sidelines of the European summit, underneath the mediation of France, Germany and the European Council.
“Azerbaijan did not consider it necessary to participate in negotiations in this format,” an Azerbaijani authorities official informed AFP.
Aliyev wouldn’t attend due to “pro-Armenian statements by French officials… and statements on the supply of weapons and ammunition (to Yerevan), on military cooperation”, the official informed AFP.
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna stated in Yerevan on Tuesday that Paris had agreed to ship army gear to Armenia, with out elaborating.
The official stated Aliyev’s choice was additionally influenced by “accusations made yesterday by EU Council President Charles Michel”.
Michel, who has mediated a number of conferences between the foes lately, criticised Baku’s use of army pressure.
The official additionally cited an “anti-Azerbaijani atmosphere” and stated Baku had wished the assembly to happen in Turkey, its ally, which welcomed the Karabakh offensive.
‘A shame’
In Yerevan, Pashinyan informed parliament Wednesday that he would nonetheless journey to Spain.
“We are going to Granada with a delegation from the foreign ministry and the Security Council,” he stated.
“It is a shame that the meeting has not taken place,” he stated.
“We were in a constructive and optimistic mood, because we thought that a turning point document could be signed,” he stated. “Until this morning the likelihood of this was very high.”
Pashinyan stated he hoped an settlement could be signed “at a good moment”.
Most of the Armenian inhabitants of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh republic has fled since Azerbaijan’s offensive, and the separatist authorities has agreed to dissolve.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in a dispute over the mountainous area because the last days of the Soviet Union, going to conflict twice: within the Nineties and in 2020.
(AFP)
https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20231004-azerbaijan-s-president-refuses-to-attend-eu-talks-with-armenia-pm