MOSCOW, April 7. /TASS/. The European Union is committed to establishing deep cooperation with Armenia and Azerbaijan to reduce tensions in the Caucasus and is ready to assist the parties by organizing expert consultations and increasing financial assistance. This is according to a statement European Council President Charles Michel released following a trilateral meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. The statement was published on the official website of the European Council on Wednesday.
"President Michel reiterated the EU’s commitment to deepen its cooperation with Armenia and Azerbaijan to work closely in overcoming tensions and promote a South Caucasus that is secure, stable, peaceful and prosperous for the benefit of all people living in the region," the statement says.
The European Council President "stressed the need for the full and speedy resolution of all outstanding humanitarian issues, including the release of remaining detainees and comprehensively addressing the issue of missing persons."
He also stressed that "ensuring the appropriate distancing of forces is an essential element of incident prevention and tensions reduction."
"The EU will likewise continue to support confidence building measures between Azerbaijan and Armenia as well as humanitarian de-mining efforts, including by continuing to provide expert advice and stepping up financial assistance, and assistance to conflict-affected populations, rehabilitation and reconstruction," the statement says.
On Wednesday, a trilateral meeting of Pashinyan, Michel and Aliyev took place in Brussels. According to a preliminary agreement, by the end of April, the sides will create a commission for the delimitation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, which is also authorized to ensure security and stability in the border zone. The countries instructed their foreign ministers to begin preparations for negotiations on a peace treaty.
On March 26, the Russian Defense Ministry said that Azerbaijan’s troops entered the Russian peacekeeping mission’s zone of responsibility in Nagorno-Karabakh. On Sunday evening, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that Azerbaijan had pulled its troops back from the village of Farukh, also known as Parukh, in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Renewed clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on September 27, 2020, with intense battles raging in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. On November 9, 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on a complete ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh starting from November 10. According to the statement, the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides would maintain the positions that they had held and then the Armenian forces would turn over control of certain districts to Azerbaijan. In addition, Russian peacekeepers were deployed along the contact line and to the Lachin corridor, which links Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia.