Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan met for the third time in Brussels thanks to mediation by the European Council President Charles Michel on May 22. Prior to the trilateral meeting, Charles Michel met separately with Aliyev and Pashinyan. Each meeting lasted about 2 hours.
What did Aliyev say to Michel:
- The five principles presented by the Azerbaijani side to Armenia in March play a key role in signing the peace agreement.
- It is important to clarify the fate of about 4,000 Azerbaijanis missing in the First Karabakh War of the early 1990s.
- The landmine problem in territories Azerbaijan regained as a result of the Second Karabakh War must be resolved.
- Armenia must implement all provisions of the November 10 Ceasefire Declaration.
The trilateral meeting took nearly four hours just like the one in early April.
The main subjects:
- Border issues,
- Unblocking communications,
- Peace treaty.
Border issues
- The first joint meeting of the Border Commissions of Armenia and Azerbaijan will be held in the coming days. This meeting will answer all questions related to delimitation and how to best ensure a stable situation.
Unblocking communications
- An agreement was reached on the principles governing transit through the western part of Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan and various regions of Armenia through Azerbaijan, as well as international transportation through the communication infrastructure of both countries.
- An agreement was reached on border management, security, land rights, as well as customs principles in the context of international transportation. The Deputy Prime Ministers will continue this work in the coming days.
Peace treaty
- Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed to continue discussions on a draft of peace agreement regulating interstate relations. Groups led by foreign ministers will continue this process in the coming weeks.
Besides, unlike the previous time, Michel this time touched upon Karabakh Armenians, saying that both countries should fulfill provision of security and rights of the mentioned group.
