Lavrov on the Possible Meeting between Pashinyan and Aliyev

The question of a possible meeting between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, within the framework of BRICS or CIS events in Russia, depends solely on them. This was stated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during a press conference following his participation in the high-level week of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly.

He noted that Russia is ready to fulfill its obligations in this regard. “As they say, ‘It's up to them’. If they want to meet, we are always ready to do what was agreed upon with our participation,” stated the Russian Foreign Minister.

The BRICS summit is set to take place at the end of October in Kazan. Earlier, Russian officials announced that the leaders of CIS countries have been invited. Armenia will be represented by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at the summit.

Several leaders of countries that are not members of the BRICS organization will also participate in the summit. Notably, the participation of the President of Turkey has been confirmed.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has also invited his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian to this summit.

BRICS comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, but recently 23 countries have expressed a desire to join the economic alliance. After the summit held in Johannesburg in August, it was announced that the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Argentina, Egypt, and Ethiopia have received invitations to join BRICS starting January 1, 2024.