Josep Borrell, the European Union (EU) High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission, said on Thursday that he had tried to arrange a trilateral meeting with the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, but he could not.

"As the two [Armenian and Azerbaijani] Ministers have been in touch with me, we tried to have a trilateral contact—European Union, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. It has not been possible, so I will meet with the two Ministers separately," Borrell said before the EU-Armenia Partnership Council meeting in Brussels, which is also attended by Armenian Foreign Minister Ara Aivazian.

The meeting of the EU-Azerbaijan Partnership Council is scheduled for Friday, and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov is also expected to attend this event.

Borrell noted that these meetings were taking place after the recent large-scale hostilities in and around Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh).

"The ceasefire agreement that Russia brokered last 10 November, around 40 days ago, has certainly prevented further loss of life. But last week, unhappily, we have heard reports from both sides of ceasefire violations. Full respect for the ceasefire remains imperative," he said.

Also the head of EU diplomacy reaffirmed that they, “fully support the OSCE Minsk Group format, and we expect that the two Co-Chairs will continue—or start, because they have been interrupted for years until the [recent] war started—negotiations for a comprehensive and sustainable settlement of the conflict.”