Azerbaijan accused Armenia of an attempt to disrupt the negotiation process after Armenian PM’s statement on the need to involve Artsakh as a party to the negotiations.

Speaking during a meeting with the Armenian community of Iran, Nikol Pashinyan said he is expected to meet with the president of Azerbaijan. He said it would be a meeting without agenda, but one of the main directions is discussion of the format of talks. Pashinyan reiterated his position of talking on behalf of Armenia, not on behalf of Artsakh.

Head of the Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration Hikmet Hajiyev said that statements by the Armenian authorities on changing the format of the negotiation process are nothing more than attempts to deliberately drive the talks into a dead end and disrupt the negotiation process.

“Responsibility for this fully falls on Armenia,” he emphasized. “Holding three meetings between President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, four meetings between the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia after the change of power in Armenia is a vivid example of the fact that negotiations are held on the basis of the existing format”.