We are in the initial phase of the dialogue process, which is quite difficult, also considering the 35-year conflict, all its emotional layers, and naturally we also fully understand that the process is complicated. Narek Minasyan a member of Armenia’s civil society group, told this to a press conference Monday after recently returning from the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, within the framework of the Peace Bridge initiative, and then presented the topics discussed during their meetings there.

“The Azerbaijani side emphasized the concept of ‘peace dividends’—that practical steps must be taken so that the people, the societies of the two countries, feel on their own skin the benefits and results of peace or the established peace, as it is announced. Negotiations are also underway on various practical programs in this direction,” Minasyan said.

“At the same time, the Armenian side, especially during the meeting with Mr. [Hikmat] Hajiyev [an aide to the president of Azerbaijan], raised the issue of neutralizing various irritating factors. One of them, for example, is the use by Azerbaijani officials at various levels of wording that is with sometimes provocative, sometimes problematic rhetoric when speaking about the Armenian-Azerbaijani normalization process,” Minasyan added.

“At the same time, in Azerbaijani media we regularly encounter the issue of place names. The latest such example was a Russian-language publication by AzerTag, where Yerevan was written as ‘Irivan.’ This issue was presented with the specific example. The Azerbaijani side at least agrees with the idea that yes, more attention must be paid to this issue—the issue of rhetoric and place names—to try to minimize as much as possible the recurrence of such cases, which can also negatively affect the normalization process. Regarding this same AzerTag case, there was at least a promise that they would speak with the Azerbaijani editorial staff,” Minasyan said, and noted that such small results are important for moving forward and building a climate of mutual trust.

Also, Narek Minasyan expressed the view that such dialogues create a basis for mutual commitments in the peace process, and that one of the contributions of the peace process could be the solving of humanitarian issues, especially the return of Armenian prisoners of war in Azerbaijan.

On November 21 and 22, a group of Armenian civil society members visited Azerbaijan and met with Azerbaijani counterparts within the framework of the Peace Bridge initiative. During the meeting, they discussed the dynamics of the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the role of civil society in promoting dialogue, and prospects for implementing joint projects.