Aliyev and Ricker discussed settlement process amid rising tensions

Baku/28.11.22/Turan: President Ilham Aliyev received US Special Representative for Caucasus conflicts Philip Reeker on Monday.

During the meeting the sides discussed issues on normalization of the Armenian-Azerbaijani relations, exchanged views on the November 8 Washington meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the two countries with a view to concluding a peace treaty between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Philip Reeker noted that the U.S. keeps the process of normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the centre of attention, according to the website of the President of Azerbaijan.

It has to be kept in mind that over the last week the negotiation process has been disrupted despite the mediators being active. Another meeting between Aliyev and Pashinian in Brussels, scheduled for 7 December, was called off. The reason was Pashinian's refusal to attend the meeting without French President Macron.

This was preceded by a scandal at the CSTO summit in Yerevan where Armenia disrupted the signing of the final documents because it failed to get the clause on "Azerbaijan's aggression against Armenia" included in them.

Afterwards, Russian mediator Igor Khovayev arrived in Baku to discuss the settlement process with Aliyev.

Following this Ilham Aliyev stated that the planned signing of a peace treaty with Armenia before the end of the year is delayed by the actions of Yerevan.   

All this happens against the background of worsening of the situation in Karabakh and on the state border with Armenia, where the intensity of exchanges of fire is constantly growing. -02B-