Azerbaijan extends olive branch to Armenia with COP29 invitation

Azerbaijan has invited Armenia to the COP29 climate summit, Azerbaijani presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev announced on July 21.

Hikmet Hajiyev informed journalists that an invitation was sent to Yerevan, stating, "Mukhtar Babayev (COP29 president) has sent a letter of invitation to the Armenian foreign minister. We have sent an official invitation," Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

This invitation comes amid a peace process aimed at resolving the decades-long conflict between Baku and Yerevan, despite the absence of official diplomatic relations between the two nations.

He noted that sending this letter when both countries do not have official diplomatic relations is an illustration of Azerbaijan's goodwill and inclusive approach.

Hikmet Hajiyev said COP29 is a global endeavor and the crucial negotiations go ‘beyond Armenia and Azerbaijan’.

‘Now is the time for the Armenian government to make a decision,’ Hajiyev added.

The 2024 UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP29) will convene in November 2024 in Baku, Azerbaijan.

This event will include the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 29), the 19th meeting of the COP serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 19), and the sixth meeting of the COP serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA 6) that will convene to complete the first enhanced transparency framework and the new collective quantified goal on finance, among other matters. The 61st sessions of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA 61) and the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI 61) will also meet.