Azerbaijani, Armenian, French, EU Council presidents to meet in Prague
By Sabina Mammadli
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, French President Emmanuel Macron, and President of the European Council Charles Michel are expected to hold a joint meeting today, on October 6.
It is expected that the meeting will take place in Prague within the framework of the meeting of the European Political Community.
Meanwhile, EU diplomat Josep Borrell noted that Brussels is working to have a border commission meeting before the end of this month.
"We do not spare diplomatic efforts. We mobilize the resources we have," Borrell added.
Azerbaijan offered Armenia to hold the third meeting of the commission on the delimitation of the state border in October, and not in November, as previously planned. The meeting is planned to be held in Brussels.
Similarly, Ambassador of France to Azerbaijan Zacharie Gross noted that the release by Azerbaijan of 17 Armenian detainees is a welcome humanitarian gesture and that it contributes to building trust ahead of the important meetings in Prague.
It is worth noting that earlier, Pashinyan and Macron met in Paris to discuss the latest regional developments.
Talking about the escalations at the border, Macron stated that France is convinced that the use of force cannot be a solution for either Armenia or Azerbaijan and it is necessary to resume the dialogue immediately.
“As for long-term solutions, I think it is necessary to sign the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty with the mutual recognition of the borders reaffirmed by the agreement of December 8, 1991. Armenia is ready for the opening of communications and the construction of new communication routes in the region, in accordance with the national legislations of the countries through which they pass,” Pashinyan said.
On October 2, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan met to negotiate a draft peace treaty in Geneva.
To recap, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met for the fourth time in Brussels on August 31 under the auspices of EU Council President Charles Michel to look into ways of expediting preparations for drafting a peace deal.
After the meeting, Michel said that Azerbaijan and Armenia decided to accelerate substantive work on the peace treaty governing inter-state ties between the two countries and tasked the foreign ministers to meet within a month to work on a draft text.
The parties also thoroughly discussed humanitarian issues, like demining, detainees, and the fate of missing people.
The leaders assessed progress on all issues relating to border delimitation and how to best guarantee a stable situation and agreed that the next Border Commissions meeting to be held in Brussels in November.
The parties discussed the status of negotiations on the mechanisms of unblocking transport lines.
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Sabina Mammadli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @SabinaMmdl
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