The CIS ‘welcomes’ Washington peace declaration between Armenia and Azerbaijan

The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) ‘welcome[s]’ the moves towards peace achieved at the recent Washington meeting between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and US President Donald Trump, CIS General Secretary Sergei Lebedev has said.

Both Armenia and Azerbaijan are members of the CIS, a regional organisation consisting of nine successor states of the former Soviet Union. However, Armenia has increasingly distanced itself from the ostensibly Russia-led CIS in recent years as Yerevan’s relations with Moscow have weakened.

‘Just as we welcomed the signing of the interstate border agreement between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan back in the day, we are equally happy to welcome this joint declaration’, Lebedev said, referring to one of the documents signed by Pashinyan and Aliyev in Washington.

Subscribe to our new monthly newsletter

Tracking the rise of authoritarianism in Georgia

‘We believe this is one of the steps toward the final resolution of disagreements and the achievement of a peace treaty between Azerbaijan and Armenia’.

Lebedev added that the ultimate signing of the peace treaty would ‘enable [the CIS] to conduct full-fledged meetings of the CIS supreme bodies more effectively in [Armenia and Azerbaijan]. I sincerely hope, as secretary general, that these countries will now participate more actively in CIS affairs’.

Armenia refuses to sign CIS agreements at summit in Russia

Armenia has refused to endorse two statements adopted at the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) held in Moscow. The meeting was attended by Armenia’s Foreign Minister, Ararat Mirzoyan, on Monday. That evening, an Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesperson announced that Armenia had not joined the two statements adopted earlier that day. They did not provide any details behind their decision. The first statement adopted focused on the principles of coop

OC MediaArshaluys Barseghyan