“On the agenda is the preparation of a peace agreement to end this protracted conflict,” he said. “And the Russian side is, of course, ready to provide our partners with all possible assistance in this. In particular, we stand ready to organize negotiations in Moscow, if necessary, in any format. For starters, [talks between] foreign ministers, experts.”
Putin met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met late on Thursday ahead of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) summit in Kyrgyzstan’s capital Bishkek. According to one of his aides, the Russian leader would have also met Pashinian had the latter attended the summit.
Pashinian gave no reason for his decision not to fly to Bishkek. His foreign minister, Ararat Mirzoyan, likewise declined to attend a meeting of CIS foreign ministers held there earlier on Thursday. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov hoped to hold trilateral talks with his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts on the sidelines of that gathering.
The effective boycotts came amid unprecedented tensions between Russia and Armenia aggravated by last month’s Azerbaijani military offensive in and resulting takeover of Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenian officials have denounced Russian peacekeepers for not preventing or thwarting the offensive. Putin again defended the peacekeepers in his speech at the CIS summit.
Yerevan now seems to prefer Western mediation of Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks. Pashinian and Aliyev were scheduled to meet on the fringes of the European Union’s October 5 summit in Granada, Spain. Armenian officials expected them to sign a framework peace deal there. However, the Azerbaijani leader withdrew from the talks at the last minute.
European Council President Charles Michel afterwards expressed hope that the two leaders will meet in Brussels later this month. But it is still not clear whether it will take place.