Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev is refusing to take part in a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian scheduled for Thursday in Spain due to recent European support for Armenia, an official told AFP on Wednesday. Azerbaijani.
Nikol Pashinian, for his part, announced that he would go to the summit in Spain of the European Political Community (EPC, an organization aiming to strengthen ties between the European Union and those who share its values without being members), judging “ too bad” that the meeting with Ilham Aliev did not take place.
According to this official, who spoke on condition of anonymity and confirmed press information, Azerbaijan “did not consider it necessary to participate in the negotiations in this format” in Grenada and Mr. Aliev will not travel to Spain, contrary to what was initially planned.
He blamed an “anti-Azerbaijani atmosphere that formed” after Baku’s recent lightning victory over Armenian separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh.
This official notably cited the “pro-Armenian statements of French officials”, the visit of Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna to Armenia and her “statements on the supply of arms and ammunition”, as well as the “accusations made yesterday against Azerbaijan by the President of the Council of the EU Charles Michel”.
Mme Colonna announced Tuesday evening that Paris had “agreed” to the delivery of military equipment to Armenia, which wishes to protect itself from its Azerbaijani neighbor.
The French minister did not specify what equipment was involved but spoke of action “in this area with a spirit of responsibility on both sides and without any spirit of escalation”.
The French Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, for her part declared that she wanted a “European support plan” for Armenia.
The United States, for its part, called on both parties to dialogue.
“We note that President Aliyev will not participate in the proposed meeting in Grenada,” said US State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel.
“We have always been clear, however, that dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan is essential to resolving this long-running conflict,” he added.
The new head of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Ben Cardin, called for support for Armenia and to be firm with Azerbaijan.
“As the world continues to confront Azerbaijan’s coordinated and intentional campaign of ethnic cleansing, we must both prioritize support for the Armenians who were expelled and call on Azerbaijan to return accounts,” said Ben Cardin in a press release.
On the Armenian side, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said he had “confirmed” his participation in the summit organized in Grenada.
Armenia was “optimistic” about the scheduled meeting with Ilham Aliev, he continued, speaking in his country’s Parliament.
“It is a shame that the meeting does not take place,” noted Nikol Pashinian, assuring however that his government was not responsible for this refusal.
Armenia and Azerbaijan fought two wars, one for the dislocation of the USSR, the other in the fall of 2020, for control of the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave.