What to expect from the Brussels meeting?

Baku/22.11.21/Turan: A meeting is scheduled between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan forDecember 15 in Brussels, within the framework of the Eastern Partnership summit . It will take place at the initiative of the President of the EU Council Charles Michel.

Earlier, the holding of such a meeting, according to media reports, was announced in Moscow. Why will the leaders meet not in the capital of the Russian Federation, but in Europe? What results can be expected from it?

Earlier, the planned meeting of the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia in Moscow did not take place due to the non-constructive approach of the Armenian leadership, said Turan, commenting on these issues, member of the Milli Mejlis Committee on Defense, Security and Anti-Corruption Elshad Mirbashiroglu.

“Armenia has demonstrated by its behavior that it seeks to evade negotiations. Armenia knows that it is necessary to move on to the next step and sign a peace agreement. Until the signing of a joint statement on November 10 last year (by the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia and the Russian Federation), the issue of opening a corridor from the main part of Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan was never discussed. On the other hand, after the signing of this statement, the issue of the status of Nagorno-Karabakh was dropped from the agenda. These are very difficult conditions for Armenia, ”the parliamentarian said.

At the same time, he drew attention to the fact that Western political circles brought Nikol Pashinyan to power and one of the tasks assigned to him was to limit the leading role of Russia in the processes.

“Of course, Pashinyan does not have the strength to play an effective role in this direction. However, he can still express the position of his state in certain issues. From this point of view, Pashinyan agreed to a meeting in Brussels, ”he said.

On  November 15-16 Armenia undertook a large-scale provocation against Azerbaijan, and once again faced a tough reaction. Pashinyan, realizing that Armenia is not capable of influencing the position of Azerbaijan by force, agreed to a meeting in Brussels.

 Today Azerbaijan is essentially carrying out an operation to force Armenia to peace, Mirbashiroglu noted.

“Armenia knows very well that sooner or later this will happen. The West, also realizing the expected logical ending, tries to be in this process at one level or another, not digesting the decisive role of Russia,” the deputy continued. In his opinion, Azerbaijan will speak at the Brussels meeting with a strong position.

“The position of Baku is clear - borders must be defined, Armenia must recognize the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. After this meeting, the fair position of Azerbaijan will be brought to the attention of influential political circles of the world. All currently ongoing processes are in favor of Azerbaijan,” the MP said.

Political expert Arastun Orujlu believes that Baku did not show interest in the Moscow meeting, and that is not why it did not make any statements, while Armenia stated that "there is no need for a meeting for the sake of a meeting."

"As a result, the meeting did not take place. At the same time, tensions arose on the border, and during this escalation, the Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia appealed to Washington. Then the United States made calls to Azerbaijan and Armenia. After that it was announced that the bilateral meeting will take place in Brussels," said Orujlu.

According to the expert, Russia is trying to use the Azerbaijani-Armenian relations in its geopolitical interests. “It seems that Moscow is putting forward conditions that do not satisfy either Baku or Yerevan,” Orujlu said.

According to him, Moscow wants to use the situation to send troops into the region under the guise of additional peacekeeping forces. “This is clearly seen from Putin's statement. Most likely, the next stage will be the deployment of troops on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and in the Zangezur region. Since this option does not suit Armenia and Azerbaijan, they turned to the West, ”the expert continued.

However, in his opinion, Moscow will not agree with the participation of the West in the settlement process. “It is possible that provocations will intensify on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border and even in the mountainous part of Karabakh, local battles are possible,” the expert noted.

Orujlu is not inclined to believe that a serious document will be signed at the meeting in Brussels. “It's too early to talk about signing any agreement. But a protocol of intent can be signed," Orujlu believes. --- 21В06-