1. What meetings took place in Moscow on May 25?
The meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council took place in Moscow on May 25. President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev participated in the meeting for the first time as a guest.
The meeting between the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and the President of Russia Vladimir Putin took place in the Kremlin, in an extended format, which, as the Russian president said, was preceded by a separate meeting between the leaders of the two countries.
The meeting between the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and the President of Russia Vladimir Putin took place in the Kremlin in an extended format.
A meeting between Putin, Pashinyan and Aliyev took place in the Kremlin, first face-to-face, then with the participation of delegations.
2. What was agreed on during the trilateral meeting?
In the “open” part of the meeting, the Russian president said that the unresolved issues related to the unblocking of communications “are of a purely technical nature.”
“It is about terminology. Of course, behind the terms there should be an accurate understanding of the realities and events that will follow the signing of the relevant documents. We three believe that these are surmountable obstacles,” Putin said.
Photo: Kremlin press office
He said that an agreement was reached on the meeting of the deputy prime ministers of the three countries in a week for them to “clean out the existing issues from the agenda.”
3. What debate about the corridor took place?
At the meeting of the Eurasian Economic Council attended by the President of Azerbaijan as a guest, the latter used the wording “Zangezur Corridor.”
In response, Nikol Pashinyan said: “In his speech, the president of Azerbaijan used an expression that has been used in recent years as a title for making territorial claims against Armenia.”
Aliyev in his turn said that his country has no territorial claims to Armenia and to say such a thing “one must have a vivid imagination.” And the corridor, he said, “is an international term.”
Photo: Kremlin press office
Referring to Aliyev’s statement that Russia also supports the idea of “Zangezur Corridor”, Nikol Pashinyan noted:
“It is very interesting to know that Russia supports the project you mentioned. To be honest, this is the first time I have heard about it. I know that Russia supports the opening of all transport and economic communications in our region.”
Vladimir Putin indirectly touched on the “corridor” issue at a later meeting with Nikol Pashinyan, noting:
“The Azerbaijani party has reaffirmed that they unconditionally recognize Armenia’s full sovereignty over that territory, and there are no grounds for a dual or triple interpretation of issues related to the potential unblocking of transport links.”
4. What was said about the Lachin Corridor?
In response to Aliyev’s words, Nikol Pashinyan also said that there is only one use of the word “corridor” in the trilateral statement of November 9, 2020.
“It is the Lachin Corridor, which, I repeat, according to the trilateral statement, should be under the control of the Russian Federation and provide a connection between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia. But, unfortunately, in the presence of Russian peacekeepers, Azerbaijan illegally closed this corridor.”
Photo: Kremlin press office
Nikol Pashinyan also raised this issue at a separate meeting with Vladimir Putin, saying:
“At the regional level, the situation is quite tense in Nagorno-Karabakh and the Lachin Corridor. Regrettably, contrary to the trilateral statement of November 9, 2020, Azerbaijan has illegally blocked the Lachin Corridor, which has led to a humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh. As you know, on top of everything else, natural gas and electricity supplies to Nagorno-Karabakh have been suspended, blocked by Azerbaijan, which is exacerbating the humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. There are also problems with food and other product deliveries. Of course, Russian peacekeepers are helping us in this area, but as I have said, regrettably, the blocking of the Lachin Corridor took place in the presence of Russian peacekeepers.”
Photo: Kremlin press office
Putin responded to Pashinyan’s words in the following way:
“You are aware of our position regarding the trilateral statement when it comes to the Lachin Corridor. We have never changed our stance on this issue. You also know that we have always acted on the basis of that stance in our discussions with our Armenian friends and Azerbaijan. Everything should be done in keeping with the letter and spirit of our trilateral statement. Our position regarding this has not changed.”
5. Where did Putin misspoke?
At the meeting with the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, Vladimir Putin said:
“First of all, I would like to thank the President of Azerbaijan for his decision to join our work today within the EAEU. As I have already said, formally he attended as a guest, but, indeed, Mr Aliyev is right, it is a very conventional title, because Azerbaijan and all EAEU member countries boast serious and profound relations.”
As is known, there are no relations between Azerbaijan and EAEU member Armenia.
6. How did they remember Heydar Aliyev?
During the meeting with the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, Vladimir Putin spoke about Heydar Aliyev, whose 100th birthday anniversary was marked in May.
“This year marks the 100th birthday of the late Heydar Aliyev. You know our attitude towards this political leader both in the Soviet Union and in independent Azerbaijan. He was an outstanding politician and a uniting figure in the history of our countries. It is also well known – we celebrated his birthday in Russia in a worthy manner. We had dedicated exhibitions in both the State Duma and the Federation Council, and showed documentaries on television. Many events were held in the regions of the Russian Federation, not only in the capital, but also in Kazan, Astrakhan, Dagestan, on the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM), where Heydar Aliyev is highly respected and remembered, including the ceremonial trip of the Moscow-Tynda train and events at Angoya station, where the station building bears the name of Heydar Aliyev, who supervised the construction of the BAM as the First Deputy Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers. This prominent project for the whole Soviet Union is associated with Aliyev’s name.”
7. What hope did Ilham Aliyev express?
At the meeting with Putin, Ilham Aliyev said:
Photo: Kremlin press office
“I think that after the Armenian leadership’s recent statements on the recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan, as well as the recognition of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan with specific figures for the area of the Republic of Azerbaijan, it will be much easier to agree on other points of the peace treaty, because that was the main factor on which we could not come to terms.”
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