Negotiations underway with Azerbaijan on signing peace agreement, says Armenian official

The text of the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace agreement is finalized and most part of the ongoing talks pertain to determining the place and date for signing it, Secretary of the Security Council Armen Grigoryan has said. 

Asked at a press briefing about Russia’s mediation offer, Grigoryan said Moscow had that role for a long time but currently the talks proceed mostly bilaterally.

“Russia had a role of mediator for a long time. At this moment the negotiations are simply proceeding bilaterally, and both Yerevan and Baku have spoken about this,” Grigoryan said. 

Asked about the effectiveness of the current format and whether a return to the mediated process is possible, Grigoryan said the bilateral negotiations have proven to be productive and cited the finalization of the text as a testament to it.

Asked whether Russia’s mediation could be considered at this phase in conditions of an active involvement by Turkiye, Grigoryan said , “And whose side is Russia going to take? We will discuss this matter when you have an answer to this question.”