Talks 1 — - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hosts talks between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Munich, February 17, 2024.

Armenia & Karabakh International Armenian Azerbaijani talks

Aliyev, Pashinyan Meet in Germany

February 22, 2024

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The Armenian Mirror-Spectator

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MUNICH (Combined Sources) — Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met in Munich on Saturday, February 17, for talks hosted by Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Scholz, who also held separate meetings with Aliyev and Pashinyan earlier in the day, tweeted that “both sides agreed to resolve open issues without new violence.” He said he reaffirmed Germany’s and the European Union’s readiness to make more peace efforts.

An Armenian government statement on the trilateral meeting said Aliyev and Pashinyan agreed to “continue the work on a peace treaty” between their countries. It announced no other understandings reached by them.

The Azerbaijani news agency APA reported that Scholz left the meeting room about an hour after the start of the negotiations and they continued in a bilateral format. It said Aliyev and Pashinyan instructed their foreign ministers, who were also present at the meeting, to “continue negotiations” on the peace treaty and the delimitation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. The Armenian side did not immediately issue a statement on the bilateral discussions.

Azerbaijan had for months refused to hold further Western-mediated talks with Armenia, accusing the European Union and the United States of pro-Armenian bias and seeking direct contacts between the two conflicting sides.

By contrast, Yerevan insisted on continued Western mediation which has also been strongly criticized by Russia. It accused Baku of walking away from understandings reached by Aliyev and Pashinyan during their earlier encounters organized by the EU.

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Azerbaijan criticized Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and again demanded major legislative changes in Armenia on Monday two days after his talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev hosted by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Munich.

The Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders sounded satisfied with the results of the talks, with Aliyev calling them “constructive and useful.” Meeting with members of the Armenian community in Munich on Sunday, Pashinyan confirmed that the foreign ministers of the two South Caucasus states will meet soon for further discussions on a bilateral peace treaty.

He also said that both sides remain committed to their understandings on the basic parameters of that treaty reached during their earlier contacts organized by the European Union. Earlier this year, Yerevan accused Baku of walking away from those understandings and laying claim to Armenian territory.

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said on Monday that Armenia itself has territorial claims to Azerbaijan. The ministry spokesman, Aykhan Hajizade, pointed to Pashinyan’s Sunday remark that “Karabakh’s right to self-determination is not supported by the international community.” He said Pashinyan should have said instead that the Armenian “claims to Azerbaijan’s territory are groundless.”

“This once again indirectly proves that the demands of the Armenian side are continuing,” added Hajizade. “In this regard, the claims to our territorial integrity and sovereignty reflected in the Armenian constitution and legislative acts should be removed.”

Aliyev said on February 1 that Armenia should remove from its constitution a reference to its 1990 declaration of independence which in turn mentions a 1989 unification act adopted by the legislative bodies of Soviet Armenia and the then Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast. He reiterated on February 14 that he will not sign the peace treaty “if Armenia does not bring its legislation to a normal state.”

The Armenian Mirror-Spectator

Topics: Armenian Azerbaijani talks

People: Ilham Aliyev, Nikol Pashinyan, Olaf Scholz

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Pashinyan rejected those demands the following day. The Armenian premier himself declared last month, before Aliyev’s statements on the issue, that Armenia needs a new constitution reflecting the “new geopolitical environment” in the region. He went on to criticize the 1990 declaration.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stands between the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Munich, February 17, 2024.

Pashinyan warned that Azerbaijan could be stalling peace talks in order to launch a “full-scale war.”

While opening a government session on Thursday, Pashinyan referred to the escalation along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border earlier this week, labelling it ‘another manifestation of Azerbaijan’s unconstructive policy’.

He said Azerbaijan could be avoiding measures to stabilize the situation on the border to begin military operations ‘with the prospect of turning the military escalation into a full-scale war against the Republic of Armenia.’

‘This intention can be noticed in all statements and actions from official Baku,’ said Pashinyan.

Last week, four Armenian soldiers were killed when Azerbaijan attacked an Armenian position on the border.

During his speech in the aftermath of the attack, Pashinyan said that he had the impression Azerbaijan lacked interest in maintaining border stability, and was pursuing a policy of “give me what I want through negotiation, otherwise I will take it with war.”

He said Armenian suggestions, including demarcating the border one section at a time, had been rejected by Baku.

Pashinyan also said on Friday that it was their policy to “do everything possible to prevent such developments” by engaging in active negotiations.

Referring to statements from Azerbaijani officials, Pashinyan said it was “a violation of our country’s sovereignty and interference in our country’s internal affairs.”

He added that Armenia recognized the territorial integrity of all its neighbors and had no goals outside its territory, which he said was their long-term strategy.

Following this week’s violence, the Chief of the Russia-centered Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Joint Staff, Colonel General Andrei Serdyukov, stated that the alliance saw “high potential for conflict” on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and that a peace treaty was required to normalize the situation. Serdyukov also accused “individual states” of attempting to strengthen their positions in the South Caucasus, an apparent reference to Armenia’s growing ties to Western countries.

(Stories from Azatutyun and OC Media were used to compile this report.)

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