Analysts argue about outcome of Pashinyan and Aliev meeting in Sochi

The meeting of the Prime Minister of Armenia with the President of Azerbaijan in Sochi with the participation of the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, will entail no important consequences, but it has prepared a platform for further dialogue, Armenian analysts believe. The vector laid down in Sochi corresponds to the plans of Azerbaijani authorities; and the main result of the talks will be the acceleration of unblocking communications in Karabakh, their Azerbaijani colleagues have noted.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on November 26, Nikol Pashinyan, the Armenian Premier, Ilham Aliev, the Azerbaijani President, and Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, held talks in Sochi on the settlement of the Karabakh conflict.

The text of the statement that sums up the meeting of Aliev and Pashinyan in Sochi looks more like a letter of intent, said Naira Airumyan, a political observer.

"These intentions can become a reality, or might remain on paper. I think this amorphous nature is due to the upcoming meeting on December 15 at the initiative of the EU President Charles Michel, which Putin mentioned," Ms Airumyan told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Akop Badalyan, a political observer, also believes that no specific achievements of the meeting in Sochi were reported. However, according to his story, it was clearly stated that next week the countries' deputy prime ministers will announce a certain decision; and by the end of the year they intend to set up a commission on border demarcation and delimitation.

Azerbaijani authorities treat the Karabakh conflict as resolved, and that now it is necessary to settle the problematic issues with Armenia. At the same time, Baku brings the issues of border delimitation and communication unblocking to the forefront. Both these issues are present in the joint statement of the leaders of the three countries adopted in Sochi, Tofig Tyurkel, an observer of the "Turan" News Agency, has noted.

He believes that Azerbaijan is satisfied with the Sochi agreements. "Time will show how Armenia behaves. Should it continue evading border delimitation, then an escalation may break out on the border again," Mr Tyurkel told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on November 27, 2021 at 02:46 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.