Baku political analysts doubt outcome of Aliev's meeting with Pashinyan

Nikol Pashinyan and Ilham Aliev described the results of their meeting in Vienna as positive. However, the Azerbaijani political analysts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" did not share the restrained optimism of the leaders of the two countries.

On March 29, Ilham Aliev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and Nikol Pashinyan, Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, met in Vienna under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group co-Chairs.

Nikol Pashinyan and Ilham Aliev described their meeting as positive and constructive. After the meeting, Nikol Pashinyan proposed to continue to discuss further measures to stabilize the situation on the contact line and try to establish a peaceful life in the frontline villages. The negotiation process should also be supported by humanitarian actions, Ilham Aliev said.

Togrul Djuvarly, a member of the Azerbaijan National Public Committee for European Integration (ANPCEI), believes that no high expectations should have been associated with the talks between the leaders of the two countries.

"Ilham Aliev and Nikol Pashinyan have not yet conducted any specific negotiations, except for short conversations during international forums. They first met in Vienna. They probably listened to each other's conceptual approaches to the conflict settlement issues," Togrul Djuvarly told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The positions of the parties are diametrically opposed, in such a situation no one should count on a breakthrough in the negotiations, believes Khikmet Gadjizade, the head of the Far Centre for Political and Economic Research.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 30, 2019 at 04:16 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.