Azerbaijani, Armenian, European leaders hold informal meeting in Moldova

By Omer Tugrul Cam

BULBOACA, Moldovia (AA) – An informal meeting was held Thursday in Moldova’s capital between the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia, France and Germany and the head of the European Council to discuss the normalization process between Yerevan and Baku.

“We had the occasion to address all the topics we had discussed in Brussels in May, including connectivity, border delimitation and the peace treaty,” said European Council President Charles Michel following the meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron, which was held on the sidelines of the European Political Community summit in Chisinau.

The meeting has been a very good preparation for the next one, which will take place in Brussels on July 21, he added.

Michel also underscored that the European Union “intends to support all positive efforts in the direction of the normalization of relations” between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Relations between the two former Soviet republics have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

In the fall of 2020, Azerbaijan liberated several cities, villages and settlements from Armenian occupation during 44 days of clashes. The Russia-brokered peace agreement is celebrated as a triumph in Azerbaijan.

Despite the ongoing talks on a peace agreement, tensions between the neighboring countries increased in recent months over the Lachin corridor, the only land route giving Armenia access to Karabakh.