Kamalya Mamedova, editor-in-chief of Azerbaijan’s pro-government outlet 1news.az and a member of the Azerbaijani civil society delegation that visited Yerevan on October 21–22, said a reciprocal visit by Armenian civil society members to Baku could take place before the end of 2025.
“We expect the visit to be reciprocal. The format of these meetings is intended to continue in the long term. If positive signals continue, the process will develop further. As for the Armenian delegation’s visit to Baku, it is expected in the near future, and though details are still under discussion, we anticipate it may happen before the end of the year,” Mamedova told Factor.am .
She noted that the Azerbaijani delegation's visit to Yerevan was conducted in a positive and constructive atmosphere.
“There were no provocations or negative incidents. The organization and security measures were of high quality. Meetings with Armenian officials, including Secretary of the Security Council Armen Grigoryan, were constructive,” she said.
Mamedova called the visit historic, emphasizing that it was the first bilateral meeting of its kind in the past 30 years, conducted without third-party mediation.
She explained that the visit had not been publicly announced in advance and that meeting details were kept confidential.
“In reality, no one approached the hotel, no protests occurred, and no one expressed dissatisfaction. There were no incidents during our city walks or meetings,” she noted.
The main focus of discussions was the Armenia–Azerbaijan peace process.
“All discussions were centered on advancing the peace agenda, in line with the spirit of the joint declaration adopted in Washington this August. Sensitive, humanitarian, and logistical issues, as well as the potential opened by a peace agreement, were also discussed,” she added.
The delegation also participated in a cultural program in Yerevan, visiting Republic Square and the Matenadaran manuscript museum. Mamedova stated that everything went smoothly.
Farhad Mamedov, a pro-government political analyst in the Azerbaijani delegation, wrote on social media that after years of absence, an Azerbaijani aircraft landed at Yerevan’s Zvartnots Airport—an event he believes could become normalized in bilateral relations.
“The meeting was organized at a high level with full security. A wide range of topics was discussed, from regional geopolitics to concerns in our societies. The group’s goals and possible joint actions were also addressed. Walking around Yerevan was fascinating, finally seeing things you usually follow through the media. I even ran into a journalist I recognized from TV,” Mamedov wrote.
He acknowledged some criticism from both Armenian and Azerbaijani media but called it normal at this stage. He stressed that much work remains to align public opinion with official peace agendas and that current political conditions must be used to secure lasting stability.
Notably, Dilara Efendiyeva—previously known as an “eco-activist” who blocked the Lachin corridor—was among the Azerbaijani civil society representatives who attended the bilateral roundtable discussion in Yerevan on October 21–22.
