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Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has canceled plans to attend a summit in Spain this week, skipping an expected meeting with Armenia’s prime minister there and further snubbing the European Union and its peace efforts in the Caucasus.
Aliyev is expected to meet Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Thursday, the first meeting since Baku launched a blitzkrieg in September to retake the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, marking a a historic defeat for the ethnic minority population, who have since fled Syria. area.
The 24-hour war has rocked Armenia and raised questions about the future of its peace process with arch-enemy Azerbaijan, which is already on multiple tracks in Moscow, Washington and Brussels.
Armenia’s leader said Thursday’s meeting was scheduled to take place at the European Political Community summit in Granada but was canceled at the last minute.
“Until the last moment, and even today, we have been confirming the visit to Granada,” Pashinyan said. “We believe there is an opportunity to sign a document of vital importance. Until this morning, we had a very high assessment of this possibility.”
Azerbaijan’s state news agency said on Wednesday that Aliyev had refused to attend the summit due to an “anti-Azerbaijani atmosphere” in its format. Negotiations were originally scheduled to involve France, Germany and the European Union.
“If the EU-Azerbaijan-Armenia trilateral format is restored, Azerbaijan may participate in the meeting,” the state news agency concluded. “Any form of French involvement is unacceptable to Azerbaijan.”
It listed Baku’s complaints against France, including “pro-Armenian statements by French officials,” a visit to Armenia by the French foreign minister and plans for further military cooperation.
The Turkish government, a close ally of Azerbaijan, said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would also miss the summit. Local media said the Turkish president changed his plans because he had a cold.
An EU official confirmed that neither Aliyev nor Erdogan would attend.
EU Council President Charles Michel and the leaders of France and Germany plan to use the Granada meeting to threaten Aliyev with possible retaliation if the situation in Karabakh “deteriorates”, including possible sanctions or de-escalation of EU ties with Azerbaijan trade and investment ties, group diplomats said.
More than 100,000 Armenians – nearly the entire population of Nagorno-Karabakh – have fled the enclave in recent weeks, fearing reprisals from Azerbaijani authorities.
“I think now is probably the best time to think about how we can provide practical support to Armenia in a very tangible and convincing way,” another EU official said.
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