Chisinau Meeting: The Dilemma of the Karabakh Armenians

Bakı/02.06.23/Turan:Within the framework of the European Political Union summit in Chisinau, the President of the Council of the European Union, Charles Michel, convened a meeting with the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia. Present at the meeting were Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, President of the Council of the European Union Charles Michel, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Charles Michel stated that the meeting addressed the issues previously discussed in May, including rights, the peace agreement, and border demarcation. The purpose of the Chisinau meeting was to prepare for the upcoming gathering in Brussels on July 21.

No specifics were disclosed regarding any agreements reached between Aliyev and Pashinyan.

Simultaneously, the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia, Ceyhun Bayramov and Ararat Mirzoyan, held an informal meeting in Chisinau.

Furthermore, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that a meeting of the working group, consisting of deputy prime ministers from Azerbaijan and Armenia, was scheduled in Moscow on the same day. The purpose of this meeting was to address the unblocking of regional communications. Additionally, Pashinyan revealed that the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan were set to meet in Washington on June 12.

Regarding the outcomes of the five-sided meeting in Chisinau, involving the leaders of Azerbaijan, France, Germany, and the European Union, Pashinyan indicated that the parties were close to reaching an agreement on unblocking communications. However, he hinted that the agreements might be violated, emphasizing that it would not be his responsibility.

Despite expectations, no formal document was signed during the Chisinau summit.

Political scientist Ahmet Alili provided commentary on the program "A Difficult Question," discussing the Chisinau summit as part of the negotiation process that resumed after a long hiatus since November 2020, thanks to active intervention from Washington.

Alili regarded this process as highly successful, particularly highlighting the Brussels meeting on May 14, 2023, where Azerbaijan and Armenia mutually recognized each other's territorial integrity. He emphasized that the European platform was perhaps the most successful among the three negotiating platforms (Russian, American, and European). Alili stressed the interconnectedness of the Chisinau and European platforms, rather than considering them in isolation.

Regarding the possibility of signing a framework document for a peace treaty, the expert expressed doubt that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan would be the one to sign it. He suggested that the more likely signatories would be the Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ararat Mirzoyan, or the Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia, Armen Grigoryan. Alili based his assessment on the fact that the trilateral agreement of November 9-10, 2020, was the only document signed by the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia, wherein a leader refused territory for the first time. He believed it unlikely for Pashinyan to repeat such an action.