The leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia will resume peace talks in Brussels this weekend, according to officials, as western allies are stepping up mediation efforts between the conflict-wracked neighbors following a recent uptick in fighting over their disputed border, The Financial Times reports.
European Council president Charles Michel will host a meeting on Sunday between Azerbaijan’s president Ilham Aliyev and Armenia’s prime minister Nikol Pashinyan, three officials with knowledge of the preparations told the Financial Times.
It will be the first time the two leaders have met in person since talks in Munich in February and comes after the two countries’ foreign ministers held extensive discussions in Washington last week. US secretary of state Antony Blinken said those talks “made tangible progress on a durable peace agreement” and that he believed “an agreement [is] within sight, within reach”.
The Brussels meeting is an “important sign of progress”, one of the three officials said on condition of anonymity as it is not yet public, adding that the EU and US efforts were “mutually reinforcing” and “complementary two-track processes”.
There are also plans for the three leaders to hold another meeting on June 1 with German chancellor Olaf Scholz and French president Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the European Political Community summit in Moldova, two of the officials said.
According to report, the talks are likely to focus on Azerbaijan’s recent decision to install a checkpoint on the Lachin corridor, the only road access from Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh. They will also feature discussions on border demarcation, prisoner exchanges and efforts to remove thousands of mines that litter the enclave.
