European Council President Charles Michel says dialogue and diplomacy wanted to resolve disaster.
The European Union has invited the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia to renew peace talks following Azerbaijan’s lightning navy offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh final month, which triggered the flight of tens of hundreds of ethnic Armenians.
In a gathering of European leaders within the Spanish metropolis of Granada on Thursday, European Council President Charles Michel mentioned he invited Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to satisfy in Brussels this month.
“We consider in diplomacy. We consider in political dialogue,” Michel informed reporters on the summit of the European Political Group, a discussion board together with greater than 40 international locations.
Aliyev declined to attend the summit in Granada, the place European leaders had hoped that Armenia and Azerbaijan might work to resolve tensions and attain an settlement over Nagorno-Karabakh.
On the summit, leaders additionally pledged assist for Armenia because it grapples with the fallout of the Azerbaijani navy operation final month to grab management of the enclave, primarily populated by ethnic Armenians.
Many EU leaders have condemned the Azerbaijani operation and a few governments have known as for the bloc to contemplate robust measures towards Baku, which has insisted it took reputable motion to regain management of part of its sovereign territory.
Tens of hundreds of ethnic Armenian residents have fled Nagorno-Karabakh to neighbouring Armenia since Armenian separatists had been pressured right into a ceasefire on September 20 after a 24-hour navy operation by the a lot bigger Azerbaijani navy.
The European Parliament handed a decision on Thursday accusing Baku of “ethnic cleaning”.
Many European leaders have expressed concern over the humanitarian scenario in Nagorno-Karabakh, and Michel, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz declared their “unwavering assist” for Armenia’s territorial integrity on Thursday after assembly with Pashinyan.
Nevertheless, there doesn’t seem like consensus amongst European leaders over potential sanctions for Azerbaijan, an vital supply of oil and pure fuel for the EU and an ally of the US. France’s Macron mentioned that whereas Azerbaijan appeared to have “an issue with worldwide legislation”, steps resembling sanctions wouldn’t be productive.
Leaders on the summit agreed to step up assist to Armenia, with European Fee President Ursula von der Leyen saying that the EU will present $5.53m in emergency assist on high of an analogous quantity beforehand introduced.
