Karabakh: new talks in Brussels between Baku and Yerevan

Azerbaijan and Armenia have held new rounds of peace talks mediated by the European Union, as the two neighbors once again attempt to end decades-old hostilities linked to the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. European Council President Charles Michel, who mediated the talks, said on Saturday that peace and normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia could be achieved if the violence and callous rhetoric between the two warring sides ceased. “Real progress depends on the next steps to be taken in the near future.

As a priority, violence and harsh rhetoric must stop in order to create an environment conducive to peace talks and normalization,” Michel said. The President of the EU Council added that the current situation is clearly unsustainable and not in anyone's interest. He said the exchanges between the two leaders during the negotiations were "frank, honest and substantial". Michel made the remarks after holding trilateral talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. During the meeting, they discussed possible measures to help bring the situation back to normal in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. "I encouraged them to take bold new steps to ensure decisive and irreversible progress on the road to normalization," he said.

Russia, meanwhile, offered to host the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers and suggested that a future peace treaty be signed in Moscow. In the past, Moscow has played a leading role in restoring peace between the two countries. In this regard, Pashinyan and Aliyev have held several meetings, hosted separately by Russia and the European Union, as well as the United States, as they seek to resolve their dispute. The Nagorno-Karabakh region has been at the center of a dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia for more than three decades.