Nikol Pashinyan and Ilham Aliev reach no consent on Karabakh's status in negotiations

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan reported that the issue on participation of Nagorno-Karabakh in the negotiations was discussed during a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev. There is a need for holding trilateral negotiations to resolve the Karabakh conflict, agree Armenian politicians.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 29, Ilham Aliev and Nikol Pashinyan met in Vienna under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group co-Chairs. Azerbaijani political analysts expressed their scepticism about the outcome of the meeting, while Armenian political analysts described the meeting with restrained optimism, and politicians from Nagorno-Karabakh assessed it in a positive way.

"Since 1998, Presidents of Armenia, natives of Karabakh, represented Karabakh at the negotiations. By contrast, I have no right to negotiate on behalf of Karabakh. The involvement of Nagorno-Karabakh in the negotiations can in no way be considered as the defeat of Azerbaijan," Nikol Pashinyan said on Facebook Live.

To achieve progress in the Karabakh conflict, it is necessary to return Nagorno-Karabakh to the negotiating table, states Mikael Zolyan, a member of the "My Step" faction.

The results of the first official meeting of the leaders of the two countries can be called a success, believes political analyst Alexander Iskandaryan, the director of the Caucasus Institute.

According to Arman Navasardyan, the former Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs, the process of returning Nagorno-Karabakh to the negotiating table can be difficult, but it is necessary.

The meeting in Vienna minimized the likelihood of new hostilities, believes political observer Stepan Safaryan.