Armenian National Security Chief to participate in Azerbaijani security forum in Baku
Armenian authorities have announced that a delegation led by Andranik Simonyan, the Chief of the National Security Service (NSS), will participate in the third iteration of the ‘International Security Forum’ to be held in Baku from 19-21 September.
The announcement came on the day of the second anniversary of the final Azerbaijan offensive on Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023, which led to the surrender of the region and the exodus of virtually the entire Armenian population of the region.
The brief statement was shared by the NSS on Friday without further details. However, it appears that the formal name of the forum is the ‘Baku Security Forum’, which the Azerbaijani State Security Service has held since 2023.
This year, the forum will focus on ‘the role of mutual cooperation among security agencies in preventing humanitarian crises during terrorist attacks and armed conflicts, as well as global technogenic disasters and environmental catastrophes’, the Azerbaijani security agency said.
In addition, the state-run media agency reported on Friday that Edgar Hunanyan, Commander of the Border Troops of the NSS, was fired from his post. Hunanyan was appointed on 30 July 2024. It remains unclear if the two events are connected.
Simonyan’s visit will mark the second border crossing between Armenian and Azerbaijani officials in September.
Earlier, on 5 September, the chairs of Armenian and Azerbaijani border delimitation committees, Mher Grigoryan and Shahin Mustafayev, held unprecedented mutual visits to each other’s respective countries.
Arshaluys Barseghyan
The border crossings follow the unprecedented summit between Armenia, Azerbaijan and the US on 8 August, which saw the initialling of the peace treaty, as well as agreement to establish a route between Azerbaijan and its exclave of Nakhchivan through Armenia called the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP).
Following the deal, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and President Ilham Aliyev separately announced that peace had been established between the two states.
Arshaluys Barseghyan
