We are going through one of the most comprehensive stages of negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, European Council President Charles Michel said following trilateral talks with the heads of Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Charles Michel urged both sides "to take further courageous steps to ensure decisive and irreversible progress on the normalization track."

“And even though our meeting took place in the context of a worrying increase in tensions on the ground, I noted an important momentum in the political discussions and efforts… The Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders once again fully reconfirmed their respect for the other country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. Based on that understanding Armenia’s territory covers 29.800 sq km and Azerbaijan’s 86.600 sq km” he said.

According to Michel, the leaders of both countries reaffirmed their commitment to the 1991 Almaty Declaration as a political document and welcomed the July 12 meeting of the border delimitation commissions, and also agreed to intensify and speed up the work of the commissions.

“We discussed the situation of the Karabakh Armenian population and the situation around the Lachin corridor. The current state of affairs is clearly not sustainable and in no one’s interest. We also discussed possible concrete steps to help bring the situation back to normal.

I emphasized the need to open the Lachin road. I also noted Azerbaijan’s willingness to equally provide humanitarian supplies via [Akna] Aghdam. I see both options as important and encourage the humanitarian deliveries from both sides to ensure the needs to the population are met. I also welcomed the resumption of medical evacuations by the ICRC.

The [Artsakh] population on the ground needs reassurances, first and foremost regarding their rights and security.

In this context, I expressed the EU’s encouragement to direct dialogue between Baku and representatives of Armenians living in the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast. This dialogue should provide the much-needed confidence for all those involved,” he noted.

Charles Michel added that during the tripartite meeting, discussions also took place on the return of soldiers who accidentally crossed the border, on missing persons and on demining issues.