PM Pashinyan offers Aliyev to hold bilateral meeting

YEREVAN, AUGUST 31, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Saturday that he offered Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to hold a bilateral meeting. 

“The work with Azerbaijan has been taking place bilaterally for some time now,” Pashinyan said at a press conference when asked on mediation offers in the talks, specifically Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent statement that he’d be happy to contribute to the signing of the peace treaty. 

“Moreover, we can say that this bilateral format showed certain effectiveness during this time, starting from the joint statement of December last year up to the April 29 statement. And yesterday the regulation of the joint work of delimitation commissions was signed. We believe we should make [up our mind] in this issue, because the general understanding is that at this phase we are working bilaterally. As long as we are able to move forward in this format, I think the correct way is this format,” Pashinyan said.

He said he informed Putin about this during their latest phone call. 

Nevertheless, the Armenian Prime Minister did not rule out working in any other format. He said that each specific case must be viewed in a separate timeframe of a separate context.

Pashinyan reiterated that Armenia did not reject the meeting at the European Political Community Summit. 

“I have personally offered the Azerbaijani President, through diplomatic channels, to hold a bilateral format meeting, because previously we had the mutual understanding that we’ll be working bilaterally in this phase. I think we can continue this logic because at this moment it is effective,” Pashinyan said.

Pashinyan said the meeting can take place on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, where the delimitation commissions have been meeting. 

“I am ready for such contacts,” he said. He did not rule out other formats.