EU-Mediated Armenia-Azerbaijan Summit Concludes in Moldova with No Agreements Announced

CHISINAU  — Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met on Thursday for the third time in less than three weeks for fresh peace talks mediated by the European Union. They reported no concrete agreements following the meeting, held on the sidelines of the European summit in Moldova’s capital, Chisinau. The meeting ended without a joint statement or the signing of any documents.

Aliyev and Pashinyan were joined by EU chief Charles Michel, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Michel said they focused on an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty, as well as “the security and rights” of Nagorno-Karabakh’s population, the restoration of transport links between the two South Caucasus nations, and the delimitation of their long border. He did not say whether the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders narrowed their differences on these issues.

“We had the opportunity to address all the topics that we discussed in Brussels in May – connectivity, security and rights, the border delimitation, the peace treaty,” he said after the meeting.

“This meeting was a good preparation for the next meeting that will take place in Brussels on July 21. It means that we are working hard, and we intend to support all the positive efforts in the direction of the normalization of the relations. I also announced that I intend to invite President Aliyev, Prime Minister Pashinyan, Chancellor Scholz, and President Macron again on the margins of the next meeting of the European Political Community, which will take place in Spain. It means that we will do everything on the EU side in order to help, provide assistance, and make more progress in the direction of the normalization of the relations,” Michel added.

Pashinyan’s office confirmed that during the meeting, issues related to the unblocking of regional transport and economic infrastructure, the delimitation and security of borders between the two countries, the agreement on the settlement of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the need to address the rights and security of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as prisoners, missing persons, and other humanitarian problems were discussed. He and Aliyev will hold another trilateral meeting with Michel on July 21.