Armenian, Azerbaijani journalists paid secret trip to Baku and Yerevan

Journalists from Azerbaijan and Armenia have paid a two-day trip to Yerevan and Baku but the foreign ministries of both countries have neither confirmed nor denied it.

The reason for the confidentiality of the mutual visits of Azerbaijani and Armenian journalists is "not to annoy the public," analysts told BBC Azerbaijani.

Journalists from Azerbaijan and Armenia have paid a two-day trip to Yerevan and Baku but the foreign ministries of both countries have neither confirmed nor denied it.

Armenian presidential adviser Tevan Pogosyan told Armenian media that three journalists from both sides participated in the project. But no information has been provided about the program of the trip.

It is assumed that the official information will be released upon completion of both visits.

Shahin Hajiyev, an editor at Turan agency who visited Armenia earlier this year for the first time in 20 years, believes both sides' attendance in this kind of programs is “obligatory.”

Shahin Hajiyev told BBC Azerbaijani it seems as if both parties are forced to participate in the visit.

“The idea is welcomed neither by Baku nor Yerevan. The co-chairs insist on it; first and foremost, Russia is trying to make it happen,” he stated, adding, “the reason for keeping it confidential is not to provoke the public in the first place.”

According to Hajiyev, journalists with neutral positions were selected to produce unbiased stories.

Avaz Hasanov, chairman of the Humanitarian Research Public Union, told BBC Azerbaijani that “the peace process should consist of a broad set of measures.”

“The society in Azerbaijan is not ready for peace, nor is the government. But the government's visit to Nagorno-Karabakh is impossible. The Azerbaijani society though is interested in the processes in Karabakh tries to stay away from it,” Hasanov told BBC Azerbaijani.

Araz Alizade says the journalists' visit is not confidential adding, “the entire media writes about it, the entire republic speaks about it.”

“The only thing I regret that if we were to pick radical journalists, I would appreciate it. They would see how Azerbaijanis live and how the Armenian population live. But I think loyal journalists will go there and it will not make any difference,” Alizade said.

Allegedly, the visit was initiated by the Russian Foreign Ministry, but it did not confirm this.

The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan and Armenia spoke about the importance of beginning the process of peacekeeping earlier this year.

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