The Pashinyan-Putin-Aliev trilateral meeting took place in Sochi

The tripartite meeting of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev took place in Sochi. At the same time, the meeting of the three countries’ foreign ministers was taking place. 

As a result of the meeting, a tripartite statement was adopted, in which it was specifically stated:

“We, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, and President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, met in Sochi on October 31, 2022, and discussed the implementation of the tripartite statements of November 9, 2020, January 11, 2021, and November 26.

We reaffirmed our commitment to strictly observe all the above-mentioned agreements based on the interests of the comprehensive settlement of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations, ensuring peace, stability, security, and sustainable economic development in the South Caucasus. We agreed to make additional efforts towards the urgent solution of the remaining problems, including humanitarian.

Noting the key contribution of the Russian peacekeeping troops in ensuring security in the area of ​​its deployment, we emphasized the need for its efforts aimed at stabilizing the situation in the region.

We agreed to refrain from the use of force or the threat of its use, to discuss and resolve all problematic issues solely on the basis of mutual recognition of sovereignty, territorial integrity, and inviolability of borders, in accordance with the UN Charter and the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration.

We emphasized the importance of active preparation for the signing of a peace treaty between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan with the aim of achieving stable and long-term peace in the region. Based on the available working options, an agreement was reached to continue the search for mutually acceptable solutions. The Russian Federation will provide possible assistance to it.

We emphasized the importance of creating a positive atmosphere between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan for the continuation of the dialogue between the representatives of societies, expert communities, and religious leaders with the help of Russia, as well as for the start of tripartite inter-parliamentary contacts aimed at strengthening the trust between the peoples of the two countries.

The leaders of the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan welcomed the readiness of the Russian Federation to contribute in every possible way to the normalization of relations between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan, to ensure stability and prosperity in the South Caucasus.”

Pashinyan and Aliyev had separate meetings with Putin in Sochi

The meeting between Putin and Aliyev took place. 

“Today’s meeting is dedicated to our regional problems. Once again, I want to express my gratitude to you for the role you played in the settlement of the Karabakh conflict, a trilateral declaration was signed two years ago, which put an end to the long-term conflict,” said the President of Azerbaijan.

According to Aliyev, now is the time to talk and act in the direction of regulating relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

“We highly appreciate your personal role in this issue. Today’s trilateral meeting is not our first meeting, there were such meetings on your initiative, and I see that they were a positive stimulus for the settlement process,” he noted.

Aliyev also referred to the negotiations on the settlement of relations.

“Relatively recently, Azerbaijan put forward five main principles, on the basis of which relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia should be regulated. They are the fundamental principles of international law, and I think that a settlement can be reached on that basis. The regulation of Azerbaijan-Armenia relations is a format that, of course, requires very serious steps. We look forward to your personal and Russia’s continued active role in achieving these goals,” Aliyev said.

The President of Azerbaijan once again stated that the Karabakh conflict is already history, it was resolved two years ago, so there is practically nothing to discuss in this context.

The President of the Russian Federation emphasized the importance of finding ways to solve the still unresolved issues.

 “It is necessary to talk about the situation that has arisen today, to look for ways to solve the still unresolved issues. In this regard, I would also highlight an important component of an economic nature: we have created a tripartite working group headed by the deputy prime ministers. They have advanced a lot in terms of solving the issues we were talking about two years ago. Here too, apparently, it is necessary to give additional momentum. I know that the Azerbaijani side is working quite actively in this direction. The range of issues is quite large,” President Putin said.

It should be noted that earlier in the meeting with the Prime Minister of Armenia, the President of the Russian Federation emphasized in his speech that the Karabakh conflict has been going on for decades and it is time to put an end to that conflict.

Earlier, RA PM Nikol Pashinyan also had a meeting with Vladimir Putin.

At the meeting with Putin, Pashinyan announced that the approaches proposed by the Russian project for the establishment of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan are acceptable for Yerevan in the Nagorno-Karabakh issue.

 Pashinyan also mentioned that the withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from the zone of responsibility of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh is important for Armenia.

 The RA Prime Minister also emphasized that communications in the territory of Armenia should be under the full control of Yerevan.

144 billion AMD to be provided to Artsakh next year, if there are problems during this period, money will be provided again – RA Minister of Finance

“In the next year’s budget, the funding of Artsakh is planned in the amount of 144 billion AMD, I want to remind you that 144 billion AMD was also planned in this year’s budget. Next year, the financing will be carried out without changes. During the year, together with our colleagues from Artsakh, we often address the question of what the needs of financial resources are,” RA Minister of Finance Tigran Khachatryan said.

The minister mentioned that the needs for financial means mainly refer to housing construction.

“Housing construction in Artsakh is carried out with the great support of the RA government. 144 billion AMD is planned for the next period, but if problems that require the support of the Armenian government appear during the period, they will be discussed according to the content and solutions will be found, as it has always been the case,” he said.

Other News

• Serzh Sargsyan received Garo Paylan.

• The Armenian Red Cross Society provided one-time monetary support to 104 families, 299 persons, who moved to Armenia from the communities of the Lachin Corridor. In total, support of 12 million 720 thousand 500 AMD was provided.