YEREVAN. – Past daily of the Republic of Armenia (RA) writes: These days, the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is taking place in Samarkand [in Uzbekistan], in which, according to preliminary information, the leaders of 15 countries were to participate.

It was being noted that [Armenian PM] Nikol Pashinyan will also participate in the summit. However, on September 15, it became known that Pashinyan did not go to Uzbekistan; at the same time, the valid reasons for [his] not participating in the forum were not clearly presented either.

According to a source of the Past newspaper, this circumstance was perceived quite strangely and incomprehensibly not only on the international platform, but also in our diplomatic corps. According to our interlocutor, most of the professional diplomats at the [Armenian] MFA are confident that it would have been much more logical and comprehensible if Pashinyan had gone to Samarkand and presented to [his] international colleagues the current situation on the RA state border [with Azerbaijan], the [military] aggression and anti-human atrocities being carried out by Azerbaijan, rather than just bypassing that important platform.