On June 6-10, Azerbaijani and Armenian youth activists met in Strasbourg, France to discuss the creation of a peaceful environment and the peace process. The event was attended by 10 young participants from Azerbaijan and Armenia.
What is known about the meeting: The agreement on the meeting was reached during a trilateral meeting of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and EU Council President Charles Michel in Brussels in December last year. The youth meeting was organized by OFAJ (French-German Youth Office) within the framework of the program “New areas of cooperation within the European Union’s Eastern Partnership.” The meeting was also attended by young activists from France and Germany.
What is not known: Though the media and the French embassy in Baku earlier reported that Azerbaijan would be represented by 10 active young individuals, their list and the criteria for their selection were not disclosed. This has caused controversy and criticism on social media. Asiman Gojayev, 26, one of the participants, informed of the meeting on his Facebook in advance, and in the discussions his post sparked, the names of other participants – Shujaat Ahmadzade, Ali Gulaliyev and Ayshan Muradova were revealed.
What was said after the meeting: Following the meeting, the French embassy has not yet released any information. However, participants Asiman Gojayev and Ali Gulaliyev shared their impressions on Facebook. A. Gojayev noted that the event was held in coordination with the governments of both countries, but the selection of participants was carried out by the organizers through an open call:
The event was informal. As the organizers tried to touch on general issues, there were no direct discussions on political relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Most likely, such specific issues will be included in the list at the next meetings.
Asiman Gojayev
The activist mentioned that an argument occurred during the meeting sparked by a young Armenian from Karabakh.
Although there was a small dispute over the proposal of the Armenian participant from Khojavend [what Armenians call Martuni] to include young people living in Karabakh as a third party in these meetings, the meeting was generally positive.
he wrote
Gojayev also wrote that the problems, such as content and logistics of the meeting, were brought to attention of the organizers.
Another participant Ali Gulaliyev stated on Facebook that the Azerbaijani side was represented by independent youth.
I believe that independent young activists from the two countries will continue to come together, and various media and civil society representatives will take part in such discussions.
Ali Gulaliyev
