Hikmet Hajiyev, foreign policy advisor to the President of Azerbaijan, stated during the Global Media Forum in depopulated Shushi that the recent meeting in Abu Dhabi between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev was “constructive and pragmatic.” He highlighted the “uniqueness of the talks,” emphasizing the “absence of intermediaries or third parties.”
According to Hajiyev, the peace treaty was also discussed during the meeting. He said Baku had proposed a preliminary signing of the agreement, but unresolved issues remain. “Azerbaijan, based on the principle of creative diplomacy, suggested a preliminary signing of the document. Naturally, there are sensitive issues that must be considered—specifically, provisions in Armenia’s Constitution that contradict the spirit of peaceful resolution. Also, issues concerning the full dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group remain unsettled. Until these steps are taken, the preliminary signing will remain under discussion,” he said, as quoted by Minval.az .
Addressing the likelihood of signing a peace agreement by the end of the year, Hajiyev said, “It is difficult to make a definitive prediction.”
During a press conference, Prime Minister Pashinyan confirmed that the idea of a preliminary signing of the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace agreement had been proposed and discussed in Abu Dhabi. “We have started consultations on how to proceed. The draft signing is one of the options on the table, which may be realistic under certain conditions and less so under others,” said Pashinyan.
