Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov previously announced that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev would participate in the informal summit of Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) leaders.
"Over these two days, President Putin will hold individual conversations with everyone. These informal days are always accompanied by separate bilateral interactions. That’s the value of this format," Peskov said, according to TASS.
"We are waiting, we are preparing," he added.
The informal CIS summit is taking place in St. Petersburg on December 21–22.
However, it was later reported that President Aliyev did not travel to St. Petersburg, as stated by Minval.az .
According to the Azerbaijani presidential administration, Aliyev did not attend the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council meeting because Azerbaijan is not a member of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).
Regarding the CIS informal summit, the administration noted that the Azerbaijani president would not be able to participate due to a tight work schedule.
Earlier in St. Petersburg, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had expressed his “appreciation to the President of Azerbaijan” and emphasized that creating conditions for bilateral trade between Armenia and Azerbaijan could be seen as a key step toward peace. He noted that recent positive and constructive developments had opened new opportunities for all regional countries.
