The last meeting of the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Elmar Mammadyarov and Edward Nalbandian, took place last week in Paris behind closed doors.The press secretary of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, Elman Abdullayev, said that discussions at the meeting were "meaningful, specific and intense" and concerned the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. However, the next day Abdullayev's counterpart in Armenia, Tigran Balayan, did not confirm his words. No other official statements have been made yet.Both Azerbaijani and Armenian political analysts find it difficult to assess the importance of the meeting. Thus, the head of the department of public international law of Baku State University, Rustam Mammadov, noted that only the fact of the meeting can be stated with certainty.In turn, the director of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, Ruben Safrastyan, said that the negotiations were compromised by provocations which took place at the same time on the borders of Azerbaijan and Armenia.Rustam Mammadov expressed confidence that recent tension on the borders was cause by forces that want to stop the negotiating process. The expert could not specify what forces he was talking about.Safrastian said that in his opinion provocative actions were organized by the Azerbaijani side. Incidents on the border are used to pressure the Armenian side, he believes.Note that it was Armenia that was accused of provocations by the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan. In response, Edward Nalbandian stressed that such accusations cause "a serious blow to the negotiations."The last meeting of the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Elmar Mammadyarov and Edward Nalbandian, took place last week in Paris behind closed doors.
The press secretary of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, Elman Abdullayev, said that discussions at the meeting were "meaningful, specific and intense" and concerned the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. However, the next day Abdullayev's counterpart in Armenia, Tigran Balayan, did not confirm his words. No other official statements have been made yet.
Both Azerbaijani and Armenian political analysts find it difficult to assess the importance of the meeting. Thus, the head of the department of public international law of Baku State University, Rustam Mammadov, noted that only the fact of the meeting can be stated with certainty.
In turn, the director of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, Ruben Safrastyan, said that the negotiations were compromised by provocations which took place at the same time on the borders of Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Rustam Mammadov expressed confidence that recent tension on the borders was cause by forces that want to stop the negotiating process. The expert could not specify what forces he was talking about.
Safrastian said that in his opinion provocative actions were organized by the Azerbaijani side. Incidents on the border are used to pressure the Armenian side, he believes.
Note that it was Armenia that was accused of provocations by the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan. In response, Edward Nalbandian stressed that such accusations cause "a serious blow to the negotiations."
