Dublin: Pashinyan and Aliyev meet on the sidelines of the European summit
- Published
- Place
- Dublin, Ireland
- Event date
- Past event —
Summary
Nikol Pashinyan and Ilham Aliyev met in Dublin on Thursday, 12 November, on the sidelines of the 9th European Political Community summit. The Azerbaijani presidency announced the meeting at 20:06 Yerevan time and released official photographs of the talks. Neither Yerevan nor Baku has yet indicated what was discussed. The meeting comes a day after the Pashinyan–Erdoğan talks in Antalya, and on the day Armenia’s parliament adopted the legal framework for the TRIPP project company.
The confirmation came from the official website of the president of the Republic of Azerbaijan. “President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev met with Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan on November 12 in Dublin,” the statement says. It is timestamped 20:06. That is the same time in Yerevan. In Paris, it was 17:06. Official photographs show a handshake, then a seated conversation in front of the summit backdrop. The Armenian prime minister’s office had not yet issued a readout at the time of writing.
A European summit, a bilateral meeting
Nikol Pashinyan is in Dublin for the 9th European Political Community summit, hosted by Irish prime minister Micheál Martin. Before the plenary session, the leaders were welcomed by their Irish host and posed for the family photograph. In the margins of the summit, the prime minister also met his Estonian counterpart, Kristen Michal. Ilham Aliyev is attending the same gathering: the opening session, a round-table discussion, and several bilateral meetings during the day.
The forum brings together European heads of state and government, from EU members and non-members alike, and issues no decisions or joint communiqué. Earlier in the day in Dublin, Lithuanian president Gitanas Nausėda welcomed their efforts “to establish peace in the South Caucasus,” before the meeting was announced.
From Washington to Dublin
Since the Washington summit of 8 August 2025, the two men have already spoken again in Copenhagen, Abu Dhabi and Bishkek. In Washington, in the presence of U.S. president Donald Trump, they signed a joint declaration and initialled the Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and Inter-State Relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia. The treaty itself has not yet been signed.
Official statements referred in particular to the implementation of the Washington commitments, border delimitation, confidence-building measures, the first commercial exchanges — Azerbaijani petroleum exports to Armenia, grain transit — and the TRIPP project, the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity.” In Bishkek, on 31 August 2026, according to the Azerbaijani presidency, they agreed to continue this work through direct bilateral dialogue. No statement of that kind has yet been issued after the Dublin meeting.
The TRIPP route, and the previous day in Antalya
The TRIPP project is meant to connect Azerbaijan with its Nakhchivan exclave through southern Armenia. On Thursday in Yerevan, the National Assembly adopted at second and final reading the framework for the company that will build and manage the corridor, with no votes against. The opposition groups Armenia Strong and Hayastan did not take part in the sitting. Two days earlier, President Vahagn Khachaturyan had signed into law the ratification of the framework agreement with the United States: a company 26 percent Armenian-owned and 74 percent American-owned, for 49 years.
The day before in Antalya, Nikol Pashinyan had met Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the sidelines of the COP31 Leaders’ Summit. They discussed Armenia–Turkey normalisation, trade, peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and the reopening of transport links, including the TRIPP project.
No readout, for now
At the time of publication, Baku has only confirmed that the meeting took place, and Yerevan has not yet issued a readout. The working visit continues until 13 November. If an official statement on the substance of the talks is published, we will report it.
Analysis
An official handshake, photographs, and very few words: that is often how these meetings begin. In forty-eight hours, Nikol Pashinyan has seen Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Antalya, parliament has locked in the TRIPP framework, and Ilham Aliyev has met him again in Dublin. The bilateral channel remains open. That alone does not say whether the treaty initialled in Washington is any closer to being signed.
Possible consequences
The summit continues in Dublin. Nikol Pashinyan’s visit to Ireland ends on 13 November.
