Currently, the South Caucasus region is in dire need of establishing trust between societies, Austrian Federal Minister for European and International Affairs Alexander Schallenberg told a press conference at the EU Delegation in Georgia.

He touched upon the meetings with the acting Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan in Yerevan, as well as with the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev in Baku, adding that intensive discussions were held during the meetings, Armenpress reported.

“Our goal was to understand how trust can be built. This visit confirmed what we already knew: trust is the most important resource that the region needs and lacks. Our goal is to sow the seeds of this trust.

We know that the wounds inflicted by the war in Nagorno-Karabakh are still open, but we need a healing process. This visit showed that the parties are aware of the need for this process and that they need partners to start this process. The European Union is ready to provide any assistance,” Schallenberg said.

He noted that in this issue the EU highly appreciates the role of Georgia, thanks to which it became possible to release the Armenian captives held by Azerbaijan and hand over minefield maps by Armenia. 

“I think this trilateral cooperation is beneficial for all parties,” said the Austrian Foreign Minister, noting that the EU fully supports such processes.