EU foreign ministers to discuss Baku-Yerevan normalisation in Brussels

EU foreign ministers will discuss military aid and security guarantees to Ukraine, relations with Türkiye and China, as well as normalisation of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan at a meeting in Brussels on July 20.

"The meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council will start with a working breakfast with the participation of the UN human rights representative. Then the main session of the Foreign Affairs Council will start, devoted to three topics: the conflict in Ukraine, the foreign policy aspect of economic security, and relations with Türkiye," a high-ranking European source said, Caliber.Az reports with reference to foreign media.

He also noted that in the afternoon, EU foreign ministers will hold an hour-and-a-half online discussion with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on a wide range of issues.

There is no clear agenda for the discussions with Blinken, but it is obvious that discussions around the conflict in Ukraine and relations with China will be held, the source said.

At the end of the meeting, the ministers plan to discuss current issues, including China, the outcome of the summit with Latin American and Caribbean countries held on 17-18 July, normalisation between Armenia and Azerbaijan, etc.

When discussing economic security, the ministers will hold a discussion on reducing dependence on third countries that "could potentially use trade and economy as a weapon".

The source emphasised that the EU foreign ministers when discussing China, want to touch upon issues related to European economic security, as well as building "harmonious" relations with Beijing.

The meeting of the EU foreign ministers will start in Brussels at 10.00 local time, the final press conference of the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell is expected in the evening.

The last trilateral meeting on the normalisation of relations between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and European Council President Charles Michel was held on July 15 in Brussels. It focused on the key issues pertaining to the Azerbaijan-Armenia peace agenda.

Views were exchanged on the delimitation of borders, the opening of transport communications, the withdrawal of Armenian military units from the territories of Azerbaijan, and the disarmament of illegal military detachments in addition to the normalization and peace efforts.

Michel called the discussions “one of the most comprehensive and vigorous stages of negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan”, which was the latest in a series of intensive and productive high-level meetings involving Armenia and Azerbaijan leaders, deputy prime ministers, and foreign ministers since early May, in Brussels, Chișinău, Washington, Moscow and on the bilateral border.