Armenia's Pashinyan to attend EU talks despite Azerbaijani refusal

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will fly to Spain for talks with the European Union on Thursday despite reports that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has pulled out of the same event, Armenia's government reported on Wednesday.

Azerbaijani state media said earlier on Wednesday that Aliyev had decided against attending the EU-brokered event in Spain where he could have held talks with Pashinyan.

Russia's Interfax news agency Interfax cited Pashinyan as saying he regretted missing the opportunity to hold talks with Aliyev and saying he had been ready to sign what he called a "breakthrough" document related to the two countries' peace talks.

The five-way meeting with the leaders of France, Germany, Armenia, Azerbaijan and EU Council President Charles Michel was meant to take place in Granada, Spain, on Thursday.

(Writing by Maxim Rodionov; Editing by Andrew Osborn)