YEREVAN (Azatutyun) — Russian President Vladimir Putin held separate talks with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Moscow on Tuesday, October 8, after apparently failing to organize a trilateral meeting with them.
Putin met with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on the sidelines of a Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) summit.
Russia’s official TASS news agency reported ahead of the talks that the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict will be high on their agenda. But Putin did not mention the issue in his opening remarks publicized by the Kremlin, speaking instead about Russia’s bilateral ties with Armenia and Azerbaijan. He said, in particular, that Russian-Armenian trade is on course to reach a new record this year.
Speaking to journalists earlier in the day, Putin’s foreign policy aide, Yury Ushakov, indicated that Moscow tried to arrange a trilateral meeting of the Russian, Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders.
“No, there has been no agreement about a three-party meeting. There was such an idea, but it was not backed by anyone,” Ushakov said without elaborating.
Azerbaijani media claimed earlier that Yerevan has refused to hold Russian-mediated talks with Baku during the CIS summit. The Armenian government did not refute the claim.
