Human rights activist: Yerevan and Baku willing to discuss their  common future, but not  painful past

ArmInfo.The publics of Armenia and Azerbaijan are mature enough to discuss a common future,  but, unfortunately, they are not yet ready to address their painful past.  Naira Sultanyan. human rights activist and Director of the Democracy Development Foundation, made this statement at a press conference in Yerevan, reflecting on the results of a meeting with her Azerbaijani colleagues in Tsaghkadzor as part of the "Bridge of Peace" initiative. 

She recalled that the main goal of their initiative was to convey the  Armenian agenda to decision-makers in Azerbaijan, including their  public. Speaking about the meeting in Tsaghkadzor, Sultanyan  emphasized that humanitarian issues of concern to both sides were  freely discussed. The Armenian side had raised the issue of holding  Armenian prisoners of war in Baku.

"Although the Azerbaijani group does not have the authority to  influence this process, they can shape public opinion. In this  regard, the Armenian delegation attempted to explain to their  Azerbaijani colleagues why the presence of Armenian prisoners in Baku  contradicts the logic of peace. However, the Azerbaijani side brought  up the issue of Armenia providing minefield maps and information on  Azerbaijanis missing during the 1990 war. Although we do not have  answers to these questions, we nevertheless attempted to discuss them  and clarify the situation," the human rights activist said.

She also noted that, following the discussions, it became clear that  events were moving too quickly for both sides, and people in both  countries were failing to "digest" them. Specifically,  both sides  expressed dissatisfaction with not being able to keep up with the  political processes between the two countries.  Areg Kochinyan,  Chairman of the "Armenian Council" Analytical Center and Coordinator  of the Peace Bridge initiative, emphasized the importance of the  meeting format, both in relation to the Armenian prisoners of war  issue and the rhetoric used by the parties towards each other. He  also noted that this format for interaction is established and just a  one-off initiative.

"I consider it important that, in addition to these meetings, the  parties are also conducting serious work on the ground. For example,  our countries' delegations are organizing meetings with  representatives of civil society, the media, and the expert  community. Visits to the regions and joint projects are planned. We  are writing joint articles, the first of which I hope to present to  you in the upcoming days, including joint research. We are also  discussing other projects that will be implemented soon," Kochinyan  noted, adding that for the first time, the events are being held with  the direct assistance of the governments of both countries, with  state support and funding.

In turn, political scientist Narek Minasyan, noted that it is not yet  possible to say with certainty that the initiative will be  successful. He noted that the process depends not only on the  participants but also on external and internal factors. However, he  called it a mistake to miss such an opportunity. "During the  discussions, there was no mention of quickly establishing friendly  relations or forgetting the past; the discussion was about the  opportunity to build dialogue and discuss the future," the political  scientist noted.  According to him, the participants' goal was to  find common ground within which a peace process could be made  inevitable. He also emphasized the importance of setting realistic  expectations for the initiative. In this regard, he reported that the  discussions have led to an understanding of two main approaches:   overestimating the initiative's capabilities and overestimating the  expectations surrounding its results. First and foremost, as Minasyan  noted,  attributing the discussion of border delimitation and  demarcation issues to the initiative is not accurate, as these are  the responsibility of the government. Minasyan noted that, although  these issues were discussed, the decision on them lies within the  authority of the authorities. "The other approach is to claim that  the initiative will do nothing to improve relations. However, it is  safe to say that the initiative is influencing the narrative to some  extent," Minasyan concluded.

 Recall, a bilateral roundtable meeting between civil society  representatives from Armenia and Azerbaijan was held in Armenia on  February 13-14 as part of the "Bridge of Peace" initiative.  The  Azerbaijani delegation arrived in Armenia for the event for the first  time through the delimited and demarcated sections of the land  border, having completed all necessary procedures. The civil society  meetings were launched following the initialing of the draft peace  treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Washington, D.C., in August  2025.