Brussels Does Not Abandon Idea of Quadrilateral Meeting Involving Pashinyan and Aliyev: Source

Brussels has not abandoned the idea of organizing a quadrilateral meeting involving the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, France, and the President of the European Council. According to a diplomatic source in the European Union, they are in contact with both sides to arrange a new meeting. For President Charles Michel, the source stated, 'this is important.'

However, a specific date for the negotiations has not yet been announced. The day before, Ilham Aliyev had announced that the meeting scheduled for December 7 in Brussels would not take place due to the Armenian side's position. He emphasized that 'Pashinyan agreed to meet only with the participation of French President Macron. This means that the meeting will not take place,' said the Azerbaijani president, adding that France can no longer participate in the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process due to its 'anti-Azerbaijani biased position.'

In response, Yerevan declared that it is ready for negotiations in the former format. Today, the Ambassador-at-Large Edmon Marukyan asserted in a Twitter post that Azerbaijan agreed in Prague to continue meetings in a quadrilateral format: 'It is logical that the format of the meeting and the composition of participants should remain the same. For this reason, we hope that the meeting will take place in Brussels with the participation of Emmanuel Macron and Charles Michel,' he wrote.

The question remains whether Ilham Aliyev will succeed in excluding the French president from negotiations, as was the case with the Minsk Group concerning the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Yesterday, Philip Reeker, the U.S. State Department's Senior Advisor for Caucasus Negotiations, urged Azerbaijan and Armenia to plan future talks. Törvo Klaar, the EU's Special Representative who recently returned from Baku, also tweeted that the Azerbaijani president is committed to the EU format.

For more details, visit the original source's website.