The meeting between the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia with the participation of the President of the European Council, scheduled for next Sunday in Brussels, could not have been organized if the parties had not made progress in Washington last week, a high-ranking EU official told the Armenian service of Radio Liberty on condition of anonymity.
According to the official, the May 14 meeting is the result of continuous diplomatic efforts by the European Union, as well as successful negotiations in the United States.
“Had the Washington meeting not been satisfactory, there would be no point in organizing another discussion after it,” European sources claim.
The publication recalls that the meetings of the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia, mediated by the head of the European Council Charles Michel, came to a halt six months ago: the last meeting took place last October in Prague, where French President Emmanuel Macron joined the Aliyev-Pashinyan-Michel trio. Another quadrilateral meeting was scheduled for last December, but President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev cancelled it because of France’s pro-Armenian position; naturally, Paris cannot be a neutral mediator.
Brussels maintained constant contact with the parties, trying to find a mutually acceptable solution to resolve their differences. As a result, Yerevan agreed to negotiate with Baku in Brussels without Macron’s participation, after which the negotiations will continue in a quadrilateral format with the participation of the French president and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
“Yerevan agreed to first hold one meeting without the French president, and after about two weeks to continue negotiations with the participation of the French president and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Azerbaijani sources claim this was Baku’s condition for agreeing to Macron’s mediation,” the publication says.
The information about the upcoming meeting was confirmed to the American Politico as well. “We see this as a continuation of efforts for normalization of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations, a resumption of the trilateral meetings in the Brussels format and a follow-up to important and positive peace talks held in Washington last week,” European officials said.
