News - European Council President: There is debate over specific ways to connect Nakhichevan to Azerbaijan

Although the president of Azerbaijan has stated that he has no territorial ambitions towards Armenia, there are disagreements regarding the opening of regional communication channels. European Council President Charles Michel said this in an interview with the RFE/RL Armenian Service—and addressing the question of what the basis is for the fear that the West continues to warn Azerbaijan about respecting the territorial integrity of Armenia. In fact, to be precise, there is a debate over the specific ways to connect Nakhichevan to Azerbaijan, to be convinced that they respect Armenia's sovereignty and legislation, Michel said. Despite the efforts of the West to contribute to peace in the region, in fact, the ongoing negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, with the mediation of the European Union and the US, have stopped during the last month. Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev has declined, with various reasons, to attend three respective meetings one after the other. To the RFE/RL’s question as to whether he has the impression that the Azerbaijani side is delaying the process and misleading him, the President of the European Council responded that Brussels is optimistic, and it continues to try to organize a new meeting. To note, however, Azerbaijan has not yet agreed to attend another high-level meeting.