Abu Dhabi meeting between Armenian and Azerbaijani leadersCEFR B1
17 Jul 2025
Adapted from Arzu Geybullayeva, Global Voices • CC BY 3.0
Photo by Zulfugar Karimov, Unsplash
On July 10 Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met in Abu Dhabi. It was their first unmediated bilateral contact, coming after an agreement in principle announced in March on the terms of a possible peace deal. Both sides said bilateral negotiations are the most efficient format to address normalization.
Officials kept many details private, but the Azerbaijan Press Agency reported discussions on border delimitation, the opening and development of the Zangezur corridor, and the initialing of a peace agreement. The draft deal reportedly asks Armenia to remove EU monitors from the border and to drop lawsuits in international courts.
The proposed corridor is a central dispute: Armenia rejects the corridor name and refuses to cede control of the 32-kilometre route. Prime Minister Pashinyan supports adopting a new constitution by national referendum planned for 2027. The meeting was a breakthrough, but significant political and diplomatic hurdles remain.
Difficult words
- unmediated — not arranged by a third party
- bilateral — involving two parties or countries
- normalization — process of making relations normal
- delimitation — the act of fixing official borders
- corridor — a narrow area that connects two places
- initial — to write initials to show preliminary agreementinitialing
- cede — to give up control or hand over
- hurdle — a difficulty or obstacle to progresshurdles
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Discussion questions
- Do you think bilateral negotiations are the best way to normalize relations between the two countries? Why or why not?
- What political or diplomatic hurdles might remain after this meeting? Give two examples.
- Should EU monitors stay on the border or be removed? Explain your opinion with reasons.
