Azerbaijani FM: Brussels meeting integral part of normalisation with Armenia UPDATED

The negotiations to be held at the upcoming meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders in Brussels are an integral part of the process of normalisation of relations between the two countries.

The statement came from Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, Report informs.

Bayramov said that the main point of the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers' meetings in Washington is the negotiations on a peace treaty.

"As you know, initiatives related to the peace treaty were announced by Azerbaijan. Back in 2021, President Ilham Aliyev announced them for the first time. In February 2022, Azerbaijan put forward five basic principles. Finally, in October 2022, negotiations on a peace treaty began. These same talks were started around the expanded basic principles originally proposed by Azerbaijan. Later in November, meetings were held in Washington. A third meeting was scheduled for December in Moscow. However, Armenia refused a third meeting,” the minister told reporters.

According to him, Armenia boycotted the third meeting, citing various reasons, one of them being the question of the Lachin road.

“As a result, the meetings were not held for about six months. With the mediation of the United States, the Armenian side returned to the negotiating table, and the negotiations lasted four days. The negotiations revolved around a peace treaty," the minister added.

Furthermore, Bayramov stressed that the peace treaty being discussed between Azerbaijan and Armenia includes a number of important issues.

"Of course, we cannot talk about a complete agreement. There are enough disagreements between the parties. But there was an agreement on obvious points. So to speak, we took a step forward. We have to be realistic about the process," he emphasised.

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Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will meet EU Council President Charles Michel in Brussels on May 14.

The US State Department's Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs earlier welcomed the meeting on Twitter.

"We welcome the announcement that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will meet in Brussels with EU Council President Charles Michel on May 14. This is an important opportunity to build on forward momentum following talks in Washington," the bureau said.