Armenian civil society rep labels dissenters on regional talks as foreign agents

In Armenia, political figures who oppose the normalization of Armenian-Azerbaijani and Armenian-Turkish relations are increasingly being viewed as either foreign agents or lacking foresight.

Areg Kochinyan, a representative of Armenian civil society, made the assessment at a press conference, following his visit to Baku on November 21-22 as part of the “Bridge of Peace” initiative, Caliber.Az reports per local media.

“Certain political actors, in pursuit of their own agendas, attempt to exploit the lingering resentment, distrust, and, to some extent, fear between the sides on this matter. In my view, this is a deeply troubling phenomenon,” Kochinyan stated.

“At present, in Armenia’s political sphere, anyone opposing the Armenian-Azerbaijani and Armenian-Turkish settlement is either a foreign agent or someone who is not thinking clearly and does not understand what they are talking about,” he added.

On November 21–22, a group of Armenian civil society representatives visited Azerbaijan. During the visit, Armenian participants — Areg Kochinyan, Boris Navasardyan, Naira Sultanyan, Narek Minasyan, and Samvel Meliksetyan — met with their Azerbaijani counterparts Farhad Mammadov, Rusif Huseynov, Kamala Mammadova, Ramil Isgadarli, and Fuad Abdullayev.

Members of the initiative also met with the Azerbaijani president's aide Hikmet Hajiyev to discuss steps taken by Azerbaijan and Armenia to strengthen the peace agenda following the Washington agreements.

By Vafa Guliyeva