On 15 July, the European Council President Charles Michel held a trilateral meeting with President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia.
“We are going through one of the most comprehensive and vigorous stages of negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” said Michel after the meeting.
During the meeting, the leaders once again fully reconfirmed their respect for the other country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty and agreed to intensify and accelerate the work of the commissions working on border delimitation.
On connectivity, the sides, according to Michel, have made “clear progress” over the past two months in their discussions aimed at unblocking transport and economic links in the region.
“The construction of the railway connection should be undertaken forthwith. The EU would be ready to contribute financially,” said Michel. “Some details still require clarification, but positions on this topic are now getting closer and options are being actively explored.”
Charles Michel also emphasised the need to open the Lachin road, welcomed the resumption of medical evacuations by the ICRC, and advocated for the release by both sides of detainees.
This meeting was the latest in a series of intensive and productive high-level meetings involving Armenia and Azerbaijan leaders, Deputy Prime Ministers and Foreign Ministers since early May, in Brussels, Chișinău, Washington, Moscow, and on the bilateral border.
Charles Michel also reiterated his intention to invite the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders for another meeting in Brussels after the summer, as well as for another pentalateral meeting, with the participation also of the leaders of France and Germany, in Granada in the margins of the next European Political Community Summit.
Source: Euneigh Bourseast
