Charles Michel on the Meeting Between Armen Grigoryan and Hikmet Hajiyev

The European Union believes that the potential meeting between the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Granada on October 5 should be used to "publicly reaffirm their commitment to each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, in accordance with earlier agreements reached in Prague and Brussels." This was stated in a communication from the office of Charles Michel, President of the European Council, summarizing today’s meeting in Brussels between Hikmet Hajiyev, assistant to the President of Azerbaijan, and Armen Grigoryan, Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia. Advisors to the leaders of France, Germany, and the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus also took part in the meeting.

"The European Union is closely monitoring developments and is engaged at the highest level to help mitigate the impact of the fighting on the civilian population. In this context, the EU has reiterated its position regarding last week’s military operations conducted by Azerbaijan. Hikmet Hajiyev presented Azerbaijan's plans to provide humanitarian assistance and ensure the safety of the local population. The EU emphasized the necessity of ensuring transparency and access for international humanitarian and human rights organizations, as well as a more detailed presentation by Baku of its vision for the future of ethnic Armenians in Azerbaijan. The EU is providing assistance to the Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The meeting also allowed for an intensive exchange of ideas regarding the importance of a potential meeting of leaders in the framework of the third summit of the European Political Community scheduled for October 5 in Granada. The participants noted the mutual interest of Armenia and Azerbaijan in utilizing the possible meeting in Granada to continue efforts towards normalization of relations. Armen Grigoryan and Hikmet Hajiyev discussed possible concrete steps to promote the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace process at the upcoming potential meeting, particularly regarding border demarcation, security, communication, and humanitarian issues," the communication stated.