Baku lauds Azerbaijani, Armenian leaders’ meeting as fruitful UPDATED

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry has described as fruitful the fifth meeting between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

“We consider the fifth meeting between the Azerbaijani president and the Armenian prime minister, held with the organisation of the EU Council president on May 14, fruitful and result-oriented in terms of advancing the agenda for normalisation of relations between the two countries” Caliber.Az reports, citing the ministry.

First and foremost, re-convening the meeting in the "Brussels format", which was interrupted for almost 9 months due to various attempts to interfere and set conditions, is important in terms of promoting dialogue between the parties at the highest level, the ministry said in a statement.

"A detailed exchange took place during the meeting in order to reach concrete results on drafting of the bilateral peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the delimitation of borders, and the restoration of communications.

The principled position of Azerbaijan regarding the securing of peace and stability in the region was once again brought to the attention of the interlocutors. In particular, once again confirmation of respect for the territorial integrity of the states, and in this context, acceptance of the internationally recognized territorial integrity of Azerbaijan by Armenia are of extreme importance as well.

The meeting also provided an opportunity to discuss humanitarian issues crucial for post-conflict normalization. In this context, the importance of clarifying the fate of missing persons and speeding up steps in demining was emphasized once again.

We declare that the normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia based on mutual recognition and respect of each other's sovereignty, territorial integrity, and international borders is the only way to ensure lasting peace and stability in the region.

Furthermore, we welcome the efforts to achieve progress for the normalization of relations, and we reaffirm our readiness to continue dialogue and interaction with international partners pursuing this goal," the statement reads.

To recap, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met in Brussels on May 14 under the auspices of European Council President Charles Michel to discuss the normalisation of relations.

“The leaders shared a common willingness for a South Caucasus at peace,” the President of the European Council said following the trilateral meeting with Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders.

“Following the recent positive talks held in the United States on the peace treaty, the momentum should be maintained to take decisive steps towards the signing of a comprehensive peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” Michel said.

“On border issues, we reviewed progress and the next steps regarding the delimitation of the border. In this context, the leaders agreed on the resumption of the bilateral meetings on border issues,” he added.