There Cannot Be a Conspiracy: Pashinyan on Meeting with Aliyev

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan dedicated the latest discussion in the "Conversation with the Citizen" series to the unofficial meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev that took place in Davos and the subsequent criticisms. Pashinyan addressed questions such as "Why was it not announced beforehand? Was the meeting agreed upon or not?" by stating that it was their third meeting and third conversation.

During a recent live broadcast, Prime Minister Pashinyan shared details about his meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

Pashinyan referred to questions regarding why it was not announced in advance and whether the meeting was agreed upon, reminding that when they met in Dushanbe, the likelihood of a meeting was as uncertain as it was for Petersburg, yet it occurred.

The Prime Minister noted that when both are participating in an event, it was important to understand what their approach should be.

“In Brussels, when we participated in the NATO summit, there were instances where we came face-to-face, since we had not discussed those scenarios. Consequently, in the context of co-chairs' communications, there was an understanding that at events where both of us are participating, at least we would not avoid meetings, we would meet and talk. These are unofficial meetings, unofficial conversations; they do not mark the official start or endpoint of the negotiation process. The meeting in Davos occurred in this way. The organizers, knowing that we are both here, asked if we were against the meeting, to which we said we were not. In this logic, we informally conversed and discussed. The basis of the meeting was the understanding that if we are in the same place, we at least do not avoid meetings,” he said.

Speaking about the content of their conversation and discussion, Pashinyan stated that, essentially, the substance of their three meetings was predominantly focused on discussing the history of the negotiation process, when and what took place, as well as discussing possibilities regarding the conditions for problem resolution and potential solutions, though no specific details were discussed, rather they exchanged thoughts.

“This is somewhat an opportunity to exchange thoughts, familiarize with perceptions of the negotiation process, and to communicate. What has been stated, the main core of the discussions, is everything that we talk about publicly, that is also addressed in these discussions and conversations,” he added.

Pashinyan stressed the importance of noting that there are instances, commentators, forces, and political figures who attempt to inspire our society with theories of conspiracies being constructed. “There cannot be conspiracies; it is absurd even to think of it. This is simply a consequence of a misunderstanding of the situation, when someone believes that our government can be drawn into any conspiracy. Everyone presents their positions based on their country’s and their people's interests,” he stated.