Azerbaijan and Armenia opt for direct talks in normalizing ties, Russian intelligence chief says

Azerbaijan and Armenia prefer to work on normalizing their bilateral relations without the involvement of third parties, Sergey Naryshkin, the Director of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service said, according to Report.

In an interview with the Russian magazine "Razvedchik" (The Scout), Naryshkin stated that "Azerbaijan and Armenia do not really listen to the recommendations of the US and the EU on peaceful settlement, preferring to resolve all issues independently."

This stance aligns with the repeated statements made by Azerbaijani officials, emphasizing that Baku does not require mediators in the normalization process with Armenia. They assert that direct bilateral negotiations have proven to be the most effective approach. The agreements reached on the delimitation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and the initiation of the border demarcation process are cited as prime examples of the success of this approach.