Although the official Yerevan sent an invitation to Baku as well, Azerbaijan will not participate in the May 4 summit of the European Political Community. Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov officially announced in February (and earlier in October 2025) that “Azerbaijan’s participation is not planned at any level.” This is the official position of Baku.

This circumstance becomes an important political indicator to assess Nikol Pashinyan’s claim that peace has already been established between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Now let’s get out of the rhetoric and talk about the substance.

Peace cannot be established by declarations. It presupposes behavioral matching of the parties, a minimum level of mutual trust and at least simultaneous presence on international platforms.

However, Baku’s non-participation is the direct opposite of this logic. It shows that Azerbaijan does not share Pashinyan’s idea of ​​”already established peace” and continues to act according to its own calculations.

First of all, this is an indication that the negotiation process has not yet reached the level of stability where the parties can act as peace partners. Naturally, such summits should become platforms for dialogue if peace was truly achieved.

Secondly, participation in international high-level events is not only meaningful, but also important in terms of message. By not participating, Baku avoids such a situation where the impression of “normalization” of relations could be formed.

Thirdly, this is a negotiation tactic. Baku maintains the tools of pressure and avoids such environments where its field of maneuver can be limited or a certain range of political commitments can be fixed.

Thus, a significant contradiction is formed. Yerevan talks about already established peace,
while Baku’s practical steps show that the process remains unfinished, unstable and largely determined by power and political calculations.

As a result, a dangerous situation arises – “imitation of peace”, when the declared narrative does not match the reality. This not only reduces trust in the process, but also creates false perceptions of security.

In this case, the facts speak more about ongoing tension than established peace.

Political scientist Suren Surenyants

https://verelq.am/hy/node/172728?fbclid=IwY2xjawRlK8JleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeqSnI8skg46tjmyp1y2lMVnyuIYc4TwZBEkT-wsHWroUlwd7yjK6Wj0ntWtc_aem_BEk7jtuojrWBUo7whimEtw