Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met in Sochi on November 26.
Bilateral and trilateral meetings were held between the parties and Putin. After the three-hour meeting, the heads of state made a statement to the press together.
On it, Putin stressed that the goal of all involved parties is to create conditions for a normal peaceful life in the Karabakh region, so that people feel safe to engage in everyday-life activities, developing the local economy. According to him, efforts should be made to promote favorable living standards to citizens of both countries.
Aliyev added that the November’s aggressions were not systemic, thanking the Russian peace forces for their support to the non-escalation of the conflict. The President emphasized that the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan has not been delimited during the talks, but that Azerbaijan is ready to build a peaceful relation with its neighbor country.
We have repeatedly stated that we are ready to start the delimitation process without delay. In addition, we have openly offered to work on a peace agreement to end the conflict, recognize each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, and encourage our citizens to live as neighbors again (Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijani President)
Pashinyan also highlighted the role of Russia in stabilizing the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh and the region. He affirmed that Armenia is ready to begin the process delimitation of borders, adding that he believes that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be carried out within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group.
I think that the main purpose of today’s meeting is not just to voice whether there are any problems or not, but that we can make as concrete decisions as possible to stabilize the situation in the South Caucasus. Therefore, our responsibility is peace, stability and security of the people. (Nikol Pashinyan, Armenian Prime Minister)
As a result of the meeting, Azerbaijan and Armenia made a commitment to work together on the demarcation and delimitation of borders in a near future. Additionally, a tripartite commission has been established at the level of deputy prime ministers of the three countries.
Both counterparts will meet again on December 15, by invitation of the Charles Michel, head of the Council of Europe. This meeting will be part of the Eastern Partnership Summit.
