It is important to refrain from hostile rhetoric, engage in good  faith and show leadership to reach mutually- acceptable solutions -  Charles Michel

ArmInfo.The 5th meeting between President of the European Council Charles Michel, President of  Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan took place in Brussels. 

Below are press remarks by President Charles Michel following the  trilateral meeting with President Aliyev of Azerbaijan and Prime  Minister Pashinyan of Armenia:

"It was a pleasure to host President Aliyev and Prime Minister  Pashinyan today for a fifth meeting in Brussels. Our exchanges were  frank, open and result-oriented. They focused on progress on the path  towards Armenia-Azerbaijan normalization. The leaders shared a common  willingness for a South Caucasus at peace. I commend their respective  efforts. Together, we reviewed all issues on our agenda.

"Following the recent positive talks held in the United States on the  peace treaty, the momentum should be maintained to take decisive  steps towards the signing of a comprehensive peace agreement between  Armenia and Azerbaijan.

"On border issues, we reviewed progress and the next steps regarding  the delimitation of the border. In this context, the leaders agreed  on the resumption of the bilateral meetings on border issues. The  leaders confirmed their unequivocal commitment to the 1991 Almaty  Declaration and the respective territorial integrity of Armenia  (29,800 km2) and Azerbaijan (86,600 km2). The ultimate delimitation  of the border will be agreed through negotiations.

"On connectivity, the sides made clear progress in their discussions  aimed at unblocking transport and economic links in the region.  Positions on this topic have now come very close to each other in  particular on the reopening of the railway connections to and via  Nakhchivan. Their respective teams have been tasked to finalize an in  principle agreement on the modalities for the opening of the railway  connections and the necessary construction works together with a  concrete timetable. They also agreed to draw upon the support of the  World Customs Organization in supporting this work.   

"On humanitarian issues, there has been an understanding that further  detainees would be released in the coming weeks. I also stressed the  need to safeguard the mutual understanding that soldiers who have  simply got lost and crossed to the other side would continue to be  released through a speedy procedure. We also discussed the importance  of stepping up work on addressing the fate of missing persons and on  demining.

"We continued our exchanges on the issue of the rights and security  of Armenians living in the former Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast.  I encouraged Azerbaijan to engage in developing a positive agenda  with the aim of guaranteeing the rights and security of this  population, in close cooperation with the international community. I  also raised the need for a transparent and constructive dialogue  between Baku and this population.

"I believe that it is important to refrain from hostile rhetoric,  engage in good faith and show leadership to reach mutually-acceptable  solutions.

"The EU has no hidden agenda. Our sole aim is to help Armenia and  Azerbaijan reach a comprehensive and fair peace. We are ready to  contribute to their joint efforts. We have agreed to hold the  Brussels meetings as often as necessary. Leaders will meet again in  Brussels in July. And as was already announced publicly, we will also  meet again in the very near future together with President Macron of  France and Chancellor Scholz of Germany on the margins of the 2nd  European Political Community Summit in Chisinau. I also intend to  invite the leaders for another such meeting in the margins of the  third EPC summit in Granada in October."