Aliyev invites EPC members to Azerbaijan in 2028

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev invited members of the European Political Community to Azerbaijan in May 2028 and said Armenia’s support for Baku’s candidacy to host the summit showed that peace between the two countries had become a reality.

Speaking at the EPC summit in Armenia, Aliyev said Azerbaijan and Armenia had been living in peace for nine months and were determined to continue on that path.

“Armenia has also supported our candidacy. This is a clear indication that peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia is a reality,” Aliyev said.

He recalled that the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a joint declaration at the White House in Washington last August in the presence of U.S. President Donald Trump, who also signed the document as a witness.

Aliyev said the foreign ministers of the two countries had initialled the text of a peace agreement, adding that, for Baku and, he believed, for Yerevan, “peace was done.”

The president said that after de facto peace was achieved, Azerbaijan unilaterally lifted transit restrictions on Armenia that had been imposed in the early 1990s.

According to Aliyev, 28,000 tonnes of cargo have so far been delivered to Armenia through Azerbaijani territory. He said Azerbaijan had also started supplying oil products, including gasoline and diesel, to Armenia for the first time, with 12,000 tonnes already exported.

Aliyev said another result of peace was regional connectivity, including a railway that would connect Azerbaijan with its Nakhchivan exclave and become part of a broader transport route.

“Azerbaijan already sees the practical benefits of peace,” he said.

At the same time, Aliyev criticised the European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, accusing them of double standards towards Azerbaijan.

He said the European Parliament had adopted 14 resolutions against Azerbaijan between May 2021 and April 30, 2026, which he described as containing “insults” and “lies.”

Aliyev said Azerbaijan’s parliament had decided on May 1 to suspend participation in parliamentary cooperation with the European Parliament for one year, cease participation in the EU-Azerbaijan Parliamentary Cooperation Committee and initiate procedures to terminate its membership in the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly.

He said Azerbaijan remained committed to the peace agenda despite what he called attempts to hinder the process.

Aliyev also congratulated Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on hosting the EPC summit in Armenia and wished the meeting success.

N.Tebrizli