Azerbaijani foreign minister details Aliyev-Pashinyan contacts since 2018

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov has provided new insights into the interactions between President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan since the latter came to power in 2018.

In an interview with İTV, Bayramov said the first contact between the two leaders took place in September 2018 in Dushanbe. At the meeting, President Aliyev emphasised the need to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. According to Bayramov, Pashinyan initially adopted a constructive stance, stating: “I have just come to power; I will take the necessary steps to resolve the conflict.”

Following the meeting, a direct communication line was established between Azerbaijan and Armenia to quickly address any potential tensions. The Azerbaijani President also instructed the Ministry of Defence to maintain calm and stability along all directions.

However, Bayramov said that Pashinyan later shifted his position, expressing fears for his personal safety: “If I take steps to resolve the conflict, I will be killed. Do you want me to be killed?” The President reassured him that Azerbaijan did not wish harm on anyone.

Bayramov recalled that in 2019, Pashinyan declared: “Karabakh is Armenia, period.” He also highlighted developments in July 2020, when Armenia adopted a new national security concept that formalised the outcomes of the First Karabakh War and awarded servicemen involved in the killing of Azerbaijani military officer Polad Hashimov.

“The subsequent call for Azerbaijan to negotiate with members of the so-called ‘Nagorno-Karabakh Republic’ effectively dismantled the existing negotiation framework,” Bayramov said.

By Vugar Khalilov