Russian President Vladimir Putin convened a meeting on Thursday to facilitate discussions between the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan, focusing on the restoration of transport links between the two South Caucasus nations.

Although a final agreement was not reached during the trilateral meeting, further negotiations are planned. The deputy prime ministers of Russia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan are scheduled to meet in Moscow next week to continue their work toward opening the Armenian-Azerbaijani border for commercial traffic.

In his opening remarks, President Putin described the remaining differences between Baku and Yerevan as “purely technical” and expressed confidence in their surmountability. He suggested that the vice-premiers from the three countries take on the task of resolving these issues. Despite the existing challenges, Putin expressed optimism that progress is being made towards a comprehensive settlement, with particular attention being paid to the development of transport communications.

Earlier in the day, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev engaged in a public disagreement over the matter during a summit of the Eurasian Economic Union held in Moscow. Pashinian raised objections to Aliyev's use of the term “Zangezur corridor” when referring to the planned road and rail links between Azerbaijan and its Nakhichevan exclave, which would pass through Armenia's Syunik province. Pashinian argued that this terminology violated the Russian-brokered ceasefire that effectively ended the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh, as it implied territorial claims by Azerbaijan against Armenia. Aliyev, on the other hand, countered Pashinian's argument by stating that the word "corridor" did not carry any territorial connotations.

A follow-up meeting between the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders is scheduled to take place in Moldova on June 1. They will be joined by EU chief Charles Michel, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, as they collectively seek to contribute to the ongoing dialogue and resolution of the transport link issue.. (ILKHA)