EU hosts envoys from Azerbaijan, Armenia for talks on normalization

GENEVA

Representatives from the EU, Azerbaijan and Armenia, as well as France, and Germany met in Brussels on Tuesday to discuss how to move forward with the normalization process between Baku and Yerevan.

Simon Mordue and Magdalena Grono, advisers to EU Council chief Charles Michel, EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus Toivo Klaar, Adviser to the President of Azerbaijan Hikmet Hajiyev, and Armenian National Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan attended the meeting.

Emmanuel Bonne, adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron, and Jens Ploetner, aide to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, also participated in the session briefly attended by Michel as well.

The EU in a statement said they are closely watching all developments and urged "the need for transparency and access for international humanitarian and human rights actors and for more detail on Baku’s vision for Karabakh Armenians’ future in Azerbaijan."

The bloc stressed the importance of letting international aid workers and human rights advocates in, being transparent, and giving clear information about Azerbaijan's plan for the Armenians residing in Karabakh.

Hajiyev explained how Azerbaijan will provide humanitarian assistance and security to the local population.

Grigoryan and Hajiyev also engaged in talks on possible concrete steps to advance the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process in a possible forthcoming meeting.

"The EU believes that the possible meeting in Granada should be used by both Yerevan and Baku to reiterate publicly their commitment to each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty in line with agreements reached previously in Prague and Brussel," the statement said, referring to the European Political Community Summit in Spain on Oct. 5.