Informal Meeting between Aliyev and Pashinyan with the participation of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

On October 6, as part of the European Council meeting in Prague, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Ilham Aliyev, and Nikol Pashinyan held an informal meeting.

Erdoğan and Pashinyan had a conversation on bilateral ties. Ilham Aliyev then joined the discussion and broached the subject of managing relations between Yerevan and Baku. The three countries' foreign ministers were also present for the discussion. None of the parties have yet released any public statements about this meeting. There was footage where Aliyev and Pashinyan tête-à-tête discussed several issues that have not been revealed.

According to the social media footage, this interaction was preceded by a brief discussion in which French President Emmanuel Macron and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán took part. In one of the videos, Erdoğan jokingly says to Macron, "We can accept you into the Organization of Turkic States."

First and second formal meetings among Armenian, Azerbaijani, French, and EU leaders

On the same day, within the framework of the first meeting of the European Political Community in Prague, Nikol Pashinyan, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, and Ilham Aliyev, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, met at the initiative of the President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron and Charles Michel, the President of the European Council, the Press Offices of the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders reported.

Armenia and Azerbaijan confirmed their commitment to the UN Charter and the Alma-Ata Declaration of 1991, through which both sides recognize each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty. They confirmed that this will serve as the basis for the work of the commissions on delimitation and that the next meeting of these commissions will take place in Brussels by the end of October.

Armenia agreed to support the EU civilian mission along the border with Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan agreed to cooperate with the mentioned mission to the extent it will be concerned. The mission will start its work in October for a maximum period of two months. The purpose of the mission will be to build confidence and, through its reports, support the border commissions.

After the official lunch, another meeting of Aliyev with Macron, Michel, and Pashinyan was held in Prague, the Press Office of the Azerbaijani President reported.

Aliyev's comments after the meeting

In an interview with Azerbaijani TV channels in Prague, President Ilham Aliyev said that the parties are getting closer to peace each time. 

"I hope that we are slowly getting closer to peace. I highly appreciate Charles Michel's activities in this field. As you know, tripartite meetings have been held in Brussels several times, and each time we are getting closer to peace," he said. Noting that the quadrilateral meeting was organized by Charles Michel and Emmanuel Macron, the President of Azerbaijan said that important issues were discussed during the meeting. "I think this meeting will be important for reaching a peace agreement. The contacts are still ongoing. We agreed to meet again after dinner. In any case, the peace process has already been boosted," Aliyev noted. 

President Aliyev recalled the first meeting of the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia and said that the meetings should not be interrupted. "Ministers should meet for the second time soon, and we have proposed that after that, the working groups of both countries should come together and work on preparing the text of the peace agreement within a few days. In other words, this is our intention," he stated.

Moreover, French President Emmanuel Macron shared a photo of the meeting on his Twitter account and wrote: "For lasting peace in the Caucasus."