U.S. President Donald Trump and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian are extremely unlikely to meet later this month on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanian said on Thursday.
“We do not expect a meeting now,” Mnatsakanian told reporters.
He implied that more time is needed for organizing such a summit. He said other U.S. and Armenian officials will soon hold talks which “will lead to a more high-level meeting.”
The Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Tigran Balayan, spoke on July 31 of an “intention to organize a Trump-Pashinian meeting.” “Discussions regarding that are now underway,” he said.
U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Richard Mills likewise said on July 25 that “both sides would like to see a meeting happen.” “So we will have to see if we can find a way to make that happen,” he added.
Trump and Pashinian greeted each other and chatted briefly during a NATO summit held in Brussels earlier in July. But they have held no formal talks yet.
Pashinian expressed readiness to “strengthen and expand” Armenia’s relationship with the United States when he congratulated Trump on America’s Independence Day on July 4. For his part, Trump said in May that his administration will cooperate with the new Armenian government on “the many areas of mutual interest.”
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