This article is part of a partnership with OC Media. You can read the original in English here.
Hikmet Hajiyev, an assistant to the President of Azerbaijan and considered one of the most influential figures in the Azerbaijani leadership, has made his first working visit to Armenia, where he met with Armen Grigoryan, the Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia. This is the second time a high-ranking Azerbaijani official has visited Armenia since the initialling of the peace agreement between the two countries in August 2025.
According to identical statements published by both sides on Sunday, Hajiyev and Grigoryan discussed the peace agenda between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and exchanged views on confidence-building measures between the civil societies of the two countries.
“The importance of continuing bilateral dialogue in the context of efforts aimed at ensuring lasting peace and stability in the region was emphasized,” the joint statement read.
The meeting took place in the resort town of Dilijan in Armenia’s Tavush Province. Following the talks, Hajiyev and Grigoryan also took a walk through the town, a video of which circulated on social media.
The sides confirmed that the next meeting will be held in Azerbaijan.
Hajiyev’s visit is one of the highest-level contacts between the two countries since the peace treaty was initialled in Washington in August 2025. However, the document has still not been signed, as Azerbaijan continues to insist on amendments to the Constitution of Armenia, claiming that it contains territorial claims against Azerbaijan.
The meeting took place shortly after parliamentary elections in Armenia, in which Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party won a decisive victory. At the same time, the prospects for constitutional reform remain uncertain, as the party failed to secure a constitutional majority.
Following the initialling of the peace agreement in August 2025, Armenia and Azerbaijan have conducted a series of reciprocal visits involving officials, civil society representatives, and analysts.
Prior to Hajiyev’s trip, the highest-ranking participants in such contacts were Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan and Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister Shahin Mustafayev, who head their respective countries’ border delimitation commissions.
The first reciprocal visits took place in September 2025 following the Washington summit. Subsequent meetings were held in Gabala, Azerbaijan, in November 2025, and in Aghveran, Armenia, in April 2026.
In addition, in September 2025, the head of Armenia’s National Security Service, Andranik Simonyan, visited Azerbaijan and participated in the International Security Forum in Baku.
At the time, the Armenian outlet Hraparak, citing an anonymous source, reported that Simonyan had handed over a list of ten Armenian detainees to the Azerbaijani side, whose release Yerevan was seeking as part of the normalization of relations between the two countries. According to the publication, the list did not include the former leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh.
In turn, Azerbaijan reportedly sought the release of two Syrian citizens — Muhrab Muhammad al-Shkheir and Youssef Alabed al-Haj — who were captured during the Second Karabakh War.
The release of four Armenian detainees and the two Syrians took place several months later, in January 2026.
Currently, 19 Armenian citizens remain in custody in Azerbaijan, including former political and military leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh.
