Baku Transmitted Messages to Armenia
The Baku stage of the initiative named “Bridge of Peace” has concluded, and at today’s press conference, Areg Kochinyan, a representative of the Armenian civil society who participated in the initiative, presented details about the two-day meetings and their results.
Kochinyan assured that the visits will be continuous:
“This will not be a one-time event. There will be new visits to Armenia with the participation of Azerbaijani experts, as well as visits by representatives of Armenia to Azerbaijan,” Kochinyan said.
In both Yerevan and Baku, state bodies of both countries were actively involved in organizing the visits and ensuring security. According to Kochinyan, the Azerbaijani experts noted that they felt completely safe in Yerevan, and the Armenian participants of the conference felt the same in Baku.
Kochinyan also conveyed the messages of Hikmet Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan, which the latter requested to be delivered to the Armenian public.
Hajiyev conveyed that the war is over for Azerbaijan, and the country wants to move into a phase of peacebuilding. At the same time, Azerbaijan is ready for a comprehensive and long-term peace with Armenia, and that Azerbaijan has no territorial claims against Armenia. Regarding the issue of prisoners of war (POWs), Kochinyan noted:
“Meeting with the POWs was not a priority for us, although we raised that issue in Yerevan. It is important for us that there is progress in terms of their return. The issue is being discussed. The issue might receive a certain resolution, but when, how, and what kind of resolution that will be, we will probably see in the near future.”
It should be noted that within the framework of the “Bridge of Peace” initiative, representatives of the Armenian civil society held a series of meetings with Azerbaijani experts in Baku. Corresponding meetings were also held in Yerevan a few days ago with the participation of Azerbaijani experts.