Russia offers to host Armenia-Azerbaijan summit amid EU, US failure
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The Russian Foreign Ministry says that the country is ready to host Armenia-Azerbaijani peace talks after EU-US led negotiations lead nowhere.
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Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev (L), Russian President Vladimir Putin (C), and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan (R) deliver a joint statement following their meeting in Sochi, Russia, November 26, 2021 (Sputnik)
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev met with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Brussels as the two governments look to put an end to their conflict over the disputed Nagarno-Karabkah region, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry revealed in a statement.
Charles Michel, the President of the European Council, attended and mediated the talks between the two heads of state amid heightened tensions and small-scale military confrontations in the Nagarno Karabakh region.
The United States and the EU have been posing themselves as mediators to a possible peace deal between the two nations; however, no major developments have occurred since the two leaders met with Russian President Vladimir Putin late in May.
Back then, the leaders decided to recognize each other's territorial integrity and are making progress toward normalizing relations.
"Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed on mutual recognition of each other's territorial integrity and on this basis, we are making good progress towards the normalization of our relations," Pashinyan said during a speech at a meeting of the expanded Supreme Eurasian Economic Council.
Moscow has renewed its offer to host talks between Aliyev and Pashinyan, suggesting that a peace treaty could be signed under Russian auspices.
Moscow is ready "to organize a trilateral meeting of the foreign ministers in Moscow in the near future," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The Ministery offered to hold a "Russian-Azerbaijani-Armenian summit in Moscow to sign the relevant [peace] treaty," which put an end to the conflict.
Read more: Armenia, Turkey leaders discuss normalization of ties
Tensions build up in Nagorno-Karabakh
On Friday, the Nagorno-Karabakh region saw a demonstration attended by around 6,000 Armenians demanding that Azerbaijan reopen the Lachin corridor, the sole land link with Armenia.
According to AFP, the people gathered at the central square of Karabakh's main city, Stepanakert, after the corridor was closed over a smuggling claim against the Armenian Red Cross.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan called for international unity on Thursday against Azerbaijan's "illegal blockade" of the region of Nagorno-Karabakh and further announced the launch of new EU-mediated peace talks with Azerbaijan.
Pashinyan denounced what he called an "illegal blockade" of Nagorno-Karabakh, claiming that it contradicts an International Court of Justice ruling.
Back in February, the top UN court ordered Azerbaijan to ensure free movement along the Lachin Corridor, which is the sole land link with Armenia.
Read more: Four Armenian servicemen killed by Azerbaijani shelling
