EU rep: It’s ultimately up to Azerbaijan, Armenia to agree on bilateral peace treaty content
By Vafa Ismayilova
It’s ultimately up to Azerbaijan and Armenia to agree on the content of a bilateral peace treaty, EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia Toivo Klaar has said.
He made the remarks in an interview with the Armenian media.
Commenting on Azerbaijan and Armenia agreeing to work on the preparation of a future peace treaty, Klaar said that he would not want to provide a list of what would be and what would not be part of such a treaty.
"Again, it’s ultimately up to the sides to agree on the content of such a bilateral peace treaty. From our side, I can certainly repeat our well-known position in favor of a comprehensive Armenia-Azerbaijan settlement, which would address all relevant issues. We know the differences between Armenia and Azerbaijan about the future of the region. These have been publicly stated on a number of occasions. We do hope that both sides will manage to turn the page of conflict in the region and engage constructively in these peace talks. During the second trilateral meeting, the EU reiterated its willingness to help the sides move in this direction," he said.
Klaar added that the EU is ready to provide advice and support in the delimitation of the bilateral border between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
During the Brussels meeting between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, it was also agreed to convene a Joint Border Commission by late April.
"Its mandate will be to delimit the bilateral border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and ensure a stable security situation along, and in the vicinity of, the borderline. President Charles Michel reaffirmed the EU’s readiness to provide advice and support. As you see, the Statement clearly speaks about the bilateral border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. However, as I said in reply to your previous question, we believe in general that a comprehensive settlement is needed that will address all issues that have been at the root of a conflict that has lasted more than 30 years," he said.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and European Council President Charles Michel met in a trilateral format in Brussels on April 6.
The meeting was held for a continuation of the discussions on the situation in the South Caucasus region and the development of EU relations with both countries.
The leaders took stock of developments since their last meeting in Brussels in December 2021 and their videoconference, together with French President Emmanuel Macron, in February 2022. They reviewed progress on the implementation of undertaken commitments. The leaders discussed the recently reported tensions and reiterated the necessity of adhering fully to the provisions of the 9/10 November 2020 trilateral statement.
Both Aliyev and Pashinyan have expressed a willingness to work quickly toward a peace agreement between their countries. To that end, it was decided to instruct foreign ministers to begin work on drafting a future peace treaty that would address all of the issues.
At the same time, it was also agreed to convene a Joint Border Commission by the end of April. The Joint Border Commission's mandate will be to: delimit the bilateral border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and ensure a stable security situation along and in the vicinity of the borderline.
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