Pashinyan Confirms Armenian-Azeri Summit in Russia on October 31

YEREVAN — Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Wednesday that he will fly to the Russian city of Sochi on October 31 to hold fresh talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev that will be hosted by Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.

“There was an invitation by the Russian President to hold a trilateral meeting in Sochi on October 31, and I have confirmed my participation. To be honest, I have no information whether the Azerbaijani side has confirmed the participation or not,” PM Pashinyan said at a Q&A session at the National Assembly.

Asked about the expectations from the meeting, he said a trilateral meeting in that format was last held in November 2021, and added that the main expectations are connected with the assessment and interpretation of the developments that have taken place in this period.

Pashinyan said that he hopes the two sides will sign the treaty and delimit their border before the end of this year.

“I and my government will do our best to make that realistic,” he said.

Pashinyan said that he is planning to discuss with Aliyev and Putin “many outstanding issues regarding which some questions must be raised.” In particular, he said, he will bring up Azerbaijan’s “September 13 military aggression” against Armenia and Russia’s failure to prevent it.