Armenia Declines COP29 Summit in Baku Over Azerbaijan’s Failure to Release Armenian Prisoners

YEREVAN — Armenia did not participate in the COP29 climate summit in Baku due to Azerbaijan’s failure to release at least 23 Armenian prisoners, according to a senior member of parliament, Sargis Khandanyan.

The Armenian government had initially not ruled out participation as the annual UN climate change summit began on November 11. However, none of its representatives ultimately attended the two-week event in the Azerbaijani capital.

“Regarding the event held in Baku, something significant needed to happen for Armenia to participate,” said Khandanyan, chairman of the Armenian Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Relations. “Given that Armenian prisoners are still being held in Baku, it is logical that Armenia and Azerbaijan should have reached a resolution on this issue—Azerbaijan should have freed and repatriated the prisoners. But that didn’t happen.”

“In my personal view, without that [release], it was very difficult to imagine Armenia’s participation in the event,” Khandanyan told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.

Armenian press reports from late October indicated that Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan was prepared to attend COP29 if Azerbaijan agreed to release some captives. Last December, Yerevan dropped its objections to Baku hosting the global summit as part of an agreement that facilitated the release of 32 other Armenian soldiers and civilians held in Azerbaijani captivity.

Khandanyan revealed that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had proposed to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev last month that their foreign ministers hold two-day intensive talks to resolve their remaining differences and sign a bilateral peace treaty ahead of COP29. The senior lawmaker, an ally of Pashinyan, suggested on Thursday that Baku lacks the “political will” to reach such an agreement.

“Armenia does have the political will to finalize and sign the peace treaty within days or weeks,” he emphasized.