Rumors Are Clearly Provocative and Do Not Reflect Reality: MFA on Trilateral Meeting

Prime Minister Pashinyan has repeatedly stated that the Republic of Armenia is ready to resume negotiations with Azerbaijan at a high and top level regarding the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue within the framework and mandate of the OSCE Minsk Group, as mentioned in the statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia's spokesperson Vahan Hunanyan.

“At the same time, based on the statement of January 11, 2021, Armenia is involved in trilateral (Armenia, Russia, Azerbaijan) working discussions concerning the unblocking of regional transport communications. Since May 2021, the withdrawal of Azerbaijani armed forces from the territory of Armenia and the possible initiation of the delimitation and demarcation process of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border have also been discussed in the trilateral format, which has not yet been realized.

The other two co-chairing countries of the OSCE Minsk Group, the USA and France, as well as the European Union, have expressed their readiness to provide advisory support on matters of border delimitation and demarcation, as well as the opening of regional communications. The Government of the Republic of Armenia announced this agenda months ago and will be consistent in promoting it, defending the interests of the Republic of Armenia and Artsakh, and establishing lasting peace and stability.

At the same time, I want to emphasize that at this moment there is no planned meeting between the Prime Minister of Armenia and the President of Azerbaijan. There are various proposals for meetings in different formats that are in the discussion phase.

I also want to highlight that the rumors circulated by certain circles on this topic are clearly provocative in nature and do not reflect reality. To accurately orient oneself in the situation, I would recommend examining the reports preceding the trilateral meeting in Moscow on January 11, 2021, the claims, the “revelations,” getting acquainted with the outcomes and content of the meeting, and retrospectively analyzing how much the rumors circulated prior to the meeting corresponded to reality.