Pashinyan sought 'turning point document' but Aliyev rejects meeting

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
5 Oct 2023 00:14

Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan says he was hoping to meet with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on the sidelines of the European Political Community summit in Granada.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev attends a trilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on the sidelines of the Eurasian Economic Union Forum at the Kremlin, in Moscow, Russia, May 25, 2023. (AP)

Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev has turned down a European meeting in Spain with Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan this week, due to European support for Yerevan, a government official told AFP on Wednesday.

In response to the decision, Pashinyan stressed that despite this setback, he is still keen on attending the European Political Community (EPC) summit in Granada.

Pashinyan later said he would still go to the summit of the European Political Community (EPC) in Granada, saying it was a "shame" that the two leaders would not be able to sign a "turning point document" on the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Mediated by France, Germany, and the European Council, Aliyev and Pashinyan were set to meet on the sidelines of the European summit, however, the Azeri official underscored that "Azerbaijan did not consider it necessary to participate in negotiations in this format," stressing that "pro-Armenian statements by French officials... and statements on the supply of weapons and ammunition (to Yerevan), on military cooperation," had been behind Aliyev's decision to refuse to attend the talks.

Significantly, Pashinyan had a different perspective as he told parliament in Yerevan, "We are going to Granada with a delegation from the foreign ministry and the Security Council."

Moreover, the Armenian PM said, "We were in a constructive and optimistic mood, because we thought that a turning point document could be signed," claiming that "until this morning the likelihood of this was very high."

Azerbaijan criticizes French effort to support Yerevan militarily

In a statement released by the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, it was noted that "the efforts to supply Armenia with weaponry in every possible way and the instigation of this country for another aggression and military adventure by France are unacceptable.

"As with the previous attempts of France to intervene in our region, the inevitable failure of this kind of effort must be clear for France," the statement read.

Moreover, the statement emphasized that the "allegations of France, which never cared about the forceful mass deportations of Azerbaijanis from their homelands, as well as war crimes, and massacres committed against them for almost 30 years, claiming that Armenian residents who voluntarily relocated from the region were forcibly displaced without any proof, as well as opposing to the position of the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, UN High Commissioner for Refugees and other international organizations are intended to mislead the international community."

It is worth noting that on a visit to Armenia on Tuesday, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna announced that Paris has agreed to supply military weapons to Yerevan.

Colonna told reporters that "France has given its agreement to the conclusion of future contracts with Armenia which will allow the delivery of military equipment to Armenia so that it can ensure its defence."

Expressing she could not give details, she stressed that "there are things that were already agreed between Armenia and France and that are in progress."