Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met on the sidelines of the summit in Brussels on December 14 on the invitation of the European Council President Charles Michel.
The meeting marked to be the first one held by Michel bringing together the two who previously had met only by mediation of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Last time Aliyev and Pashinyan sat down with Putin later last month, and before in January this year.
The meeting was arranged by Michel after he called the two leaders separately by phone on November 19 and asked to meet in Brussels. Michel’s initiative was likely motivated by the skirmish on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border on November 16, which saw 22 soldiers killed in total.
Prior to the trilateral meeting Aliyev spoke in a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, where he reiterated his stance on opening of the “Zangazur corridor”. “There should be no customs checkpoint [by Armenia] at Zangazur corridor, just like there is none at Lachin corridor,” Aliyev claimed. But he added that he agrees to Armenia opening customs checkpoint at Zangazur corridor only if Azerbaijan can do the same at Lachin corridor, which connects Armenia to Russian-controlled area of the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast.
In response, Pashinyan tweeted that Azerbaijani President tries to “bring the issue of opening regional communications to deadlock”. “The attempts of Azerbaijan’s President to make parallels between the opening of regional communications with Lachin corridor have nothing to do with the statements signed on this topic. It is unacceptable,” he added.
After the meeting, Michel stated that both leaders “reaffirmed their commitment to the trilateral agreements signed with the mediation of Russia”. The European Council offered the sides to “create a platform for the development of economic cooperation and strengthening of confidence” between Yerevan and Baku. Previously, communication channel was established between defense departments of Azerbaijan and Armenia brokered by the European Council.
Michel’s statements also addresses “the need to urgently resolve humanitarian issues, including the release of Armenian prisoners still held in Azerbaijan, determining of the fate of the missing”. Besides, the Council head promised to “support humanitarian demining efforts by providing advice and assistance to conflict-affected populations”.
Moreover, regarding the opening of communication lines in the region in accordance with 10 November 2020 Statement, Michel said it should be realized with “full respect for the sovereignty of all countries” of the South Caucasus.
He also stressed that the decision was made in the trilateral meeting to “restore railways” blocked because of the conflict.
The Crisis Group senior analyst Olesya Vartanyan tweeted that the statement makes it clear that the EU has “no intention to replace any existing formats but rather contribute to the ongoing and future discussions and agreements”, mostly mediated by Russia.
Overall, Vartanyan thinks that despite yesterday’s controversy over statements about “corridors”, the meeting was “a success”.
