On May 25, a trilateral meeting of the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia took place in Moscow. It was planned to sign important documents, including those related to unblocking transport communications in the South Caucasus. However, the meeting lasted only 20 minutes and nothing was signed.
Negotiations between Baku and Yerevan lasted throughout May, their representatives met in different formats in Washington, Brussels, Moscow, but this did not bring the parties closer, but rather exacerbated the contradictions.
On May 22, the head of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan made an important statement recognizing the integrity of the territory of Azerbaijan: “86.6 thousand square meters of Azerbaijan also includes Nagorno-Karabakh. But we must also fix that in the Stepanakert-Baku dialogue the issue of the rights and security of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh should be discussed.”
After the meeting of the leaders in Moscow, Azerbaijani Ambassador to France Leyla Abdullayeva announced the possibility of signing a peace treaty between Baku and Yerevan on June 1 - at the summit of the European Political Community in Moldova. However, Yerevan quickly refuted it, saying that there was no such issue on the summit agenda.
On May 28, during a trip to Lachin, the head of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, made sharp statements that the parliament of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic should be dissolved, and the president of the unrecognized country should surrender to the Azerbaijani authorities.
“Everyone knows that today we have the opportunity to carry out any operation in that region,” Aliyev said. – Separatism has come to an end. Dreams of independence went the same way as status. And during the Second Karabakh War, we sent the status to the right place.”
In addition, he stated that the delimitation of the border between Azerbaijan and Armenia should take place only on Baku’s terms.
Nikol Pashinyan called Aliyev’s statements “incomprehensible.” Azerbaijan must clarify whether they mean a rejection of previously reached agreements, the Armenian leader said.
In June, shelling and mutual accusations of the use of small arms began on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Ceasefire violations were recorded on June 11, 14, 16 and 19. Two Indian citizens were injured when the Azerbaijani military shelled a metallurgical plant being built in Yeraskh, Yerevan said. At the same time, Baku claims that the Armenian military fired at a village on the territory of Nakhichevan.