Armenian Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan said on October 22 that potential high-level visits between Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders are possible but depend on concrete progress in humanitarian issues, particularly the release of prisoners of war and hostages.
“I wouldn’t rule out the possibility that, within certain international formats, the president of Azerbaijan could visit Armenia, our country’s leader could travel there, and I myself am also ready to visit Azerbaijan,” Simonyan told reporters.
“But there are matters that need to be resolved first,” he added. “It’s not only about security — it’s about the detainees. It’s hard for us to move forward knowing that our people are still being held, both POWs and hostages. I’m optimistic, but we won’t discuss this issue further until there are tangible results.”
Simonyan said he had raised the issue of prisoners of war and hostages not only during his private meeting with Azerbaijani Parliament Speaker Sahiba Gafarova, but also in his public remarks following that meeting.
He also noted that the overall tone of the talks was constructive, saying the atmosphere with Gafarova “was even better than with many other international partners.”