(Reuters) – The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan are to meet next week in Brussels, the European Union said on Monday, the latest attempt to secure a durable peace accord and resolve longstanding differences over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The meeting on May 14 between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azeri President Ilham Aliyev follows talks between their two foreign ministers that prompted U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to suggest a breakthrough was possible.
An announcement on the EU Council’s website said a three-corner meeting with Council President Charles Michel would take place at EU headquarters.
Armenia and Azerbaijan, both former Soviet states, have fought two wars over 30 years focusing on Nagorno-Karabakh, recognised as part of Azerbaijan but populated mainly by Armenians.
In a six-week conflict in 2020, ended by a Russian-brokered truce, Azerbaijan recovered territory lost in the first war dating from the collapse of Soviet rule. Border skirmishes erupt periodically between the two sides.
Pashinyan and Aliyev have held several rounds of talks, generally organised by the EU or Russia, but have failed to resolve outstanding difficulties, including border demarcation and access to areas across each other’s territory.
The latest EU announcement said the two leaders would also meet on June 1 in Moldova during an EU-sponsored development meeting to be attended by President Emmanuel Macron of France and Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany.
“The leaders have also agreed to continue to meet trilaterally in Brussels as frequently as necessary to address ongoing developments on the ground and standing agenda items of the Brussels meetings,” the EU statement said.
(Reporting by Ron Popeski; editing by Grant McCool)
