Armenian premier reportedly refused meeting with Azerbaijani  president 

ArmInfo. Hikmet Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan, Head of the Foreign Policy  Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration, has stated that Baku evaluates Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's refusal to meet with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in London as a  'withdrawal from the peace agenda'.

This meeting, proposed by the host of the European Political  Community (EPC), Great Britain, was intended to advance the peace  agenda between the two nations.

    "The UK, which hosts the European Political Community Summit,  proposed to hold such a meeting, and it was suggested to be in the  format of the meeting held between the President of the Republic of  Azerbaijan and the Prime Minister of Armenia at the Munich Security  Conference," Azerbaijani mass media report quoting Hajiyev as  stating. 

    "Thus, during the Munich Security Conference, German Chancellor Olaf  Scholz participated at the beginning of the meeting, and then the  meeting continued in a bilateral format between Azerbaijan and  Armenia. The UK offered the same format as the host.

    But the Armenian side refused. So that, the meeting would begin with  the participation of the British Prime Minister, and then it was  supposed to continue between Azerbaijan and Armenia in a bilateral  format. We consider Armenia's rejection of this meeting as a  manifestation of its intention to withdraw from the dialogue and the  advancement of the peace agenda.

    While Armenia talks about peace on various platforms, it is in no way  understandable that it refuses a meeting which serves to advance the  peace agenda, and the international community itself should see that  Armenia rejects possibilities of dialogue instead of appreciating   them.  We, on our part, appreciate such a peace initiative from  Great Britain," he added.