In his last days as European Commission President, Charles Michel is pushing Yerevan and Baku to finalize a peace deal.
He reportedly held separate meetings with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan on the margins of the European Political Community summit held earlier this month in the United Kingdom.
In fact, two senior diplomats confirmed to Politico about the previously not reported meetings with the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders. Pashinyan and Aliyev did not meet at the EPC summit in Britain, with each accusing the other of derailing such a meeting.
Michel has also written to the two sides, calling on them to return to the table and “finalize the peace agreement” by making progress on outstanding issues like border delimitation, according to Politico.
The senior diplomats also voiced their frustration to Politico about the delay and what they deem as a “diplomatic deadlock” in the talks.
While Pashinyan and his government have expressed willingness to move forward with a peace agreement, Aliyev and his regime have placed preconditions on signing a treaty, among them the Azerbaijani leader’s insistence that Armenia amend its constitution.
Speaking at a “media conference” in occupied Shushi last week, Aliyev perpetuated his assertion that most of Armenia is Azerbaijani territory and called on Yerevan to ensure what he called the return of Azerbaijanis to Armenia.
“Ultimately, it’s up to both sides to stop playing games and seal the deal as President Michel has done everything in the EU’s power to reach a peace agreement,” a senior EU diplomat close to Michel told Politico.
Following the recent European Parliament elections, which saw a political shift in the composition of the legislative body, Michel announced in late June that he will be replaced by Prime Minister Antonio Costa of Portugal.
In the past several years, Michel has taken a leading role in mediating talks between Yerevan and Baku and has engaged President Emmanuel Macron of France and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in the process.
Aliyev, however, has distanced himself from these mediation efforts, as well as overtures from Washington to host talks, saying that Yerevan and Baku should negotiate bilaterally without mediators. At the same time, he and his government have signaled that they would be willing to take part in mediation efforts by Moscow.
Despite the frustrations voiced by diplomats to Politico, the EU Council approved a first-of-its-kind 10 million-euro military assistance to Armenia last week, saying that the effort would bolster Armenia’s security capabilities. At the same time, the same body said it will begin visa liberalization talks with Yerevan.
These moves, coupled with France’s supply of weapons to Armenia, have angered Aliyev, who has accused the EU, and the West in general, of perpetuating a military conflict in Armenia.
Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry last week threatened an “appropriate response” by Baku, should the EU and the U.S.—which held joint military exercises with Armenia near Yerevan—continue their overtures toward Armenia.
