By Trend

Participation in the trilateral meeting of the heads of Azerbaijan, Russia, and Armenia is a huge step forward, the US expert Peter Tase told Trend .

Russia’s Sochi will host trilateral talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Nov. 26. Despite Azerbaijan's calls to start a dialogue on the signing of a peace agreement, Armenia tried its best to avoid negotiations, resorted to provocations at the border, thereby undermining stability in the South Caucasus. The very fact that the meeting was held in Sochi suggests that Yerevan has finally come to terms with the new reality. In this regard, expectations are very high.

According to Tase, in the last decade, Armenia has demonstrated an example of poor governance of the country, and participation in the trilateral meeting in Sochi is a chance for the country to interrupt a series of unsuccessful decisions.

"Armenia must respect the International Order, come to terms and explore further the cooperation measures in the fields of Trade and Commerce with the Republic of Azerbaijan," he said.

According to Tase, the upcoming meeting has another very important political moment, namely the discussion of the status of the statements signed on November 10, 2020, and January 11, 2021, which is of particular importance for the further development of the region.

"Armenia must reject offensive rhetoric and embrace measures that restore the development of regional trade, economic and transportation projects that will definitely help Yerevan overcome the current economic recession inside Armenia," Tase said.

According to political analyst and Deputy Director of the Russian Institute of Socio-Political Research Darya Grevtsova, Pashinyan is afraid of the upcoming meeting in Sochi, since very acute and painful issues for Armenians will be touched upon.

"Armenia tried by all means to avoid this meeting. One of the topics discussed at the upcoming meeting will be the issue of border demarcation and delimitation. Most likely, a working group will be created, which will begin to deal with this issue more actively, so that Armenia can no longer push it aside. Another issue that may be raised in Sochi is the Zangazur corridor," she said.

Grevtsova also believes that during the meeting, all parties will support their commitment to the implementation of the agreements signed on November 10, 2020, and January 11, 2021.

"We know that the situation on the border can be turbulent due to provocations, thus, strict adherence to the agreements will be emphasized at this meeting," Grevtsova said.