On Thursday 1 October, the European Council called for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Armenia and Azerbaijan must recommit themselves to a lasting ceasefire and a peaceful resolution of the conflict, add the EU leaders in their conclusions, describing the loss of life and the toll on the civilian population as unacceptable.
“There can be no military solution to the conflict, nor any external interference. Azerbaijan and Armenia should engage in substantive negotiations without preconditions”, the European Council also warns.
Expressing its support for the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs (France, the United States and Russia), the EU27 asked the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs to examine the possibility of further EU support for the conflict resolution process.
Upon his arrival at the EU Council, the French President, Emmanuel Macron, said he had spoken with the US and Russian Presidents on the subject. “We will do everything we can to bring the conflict to a speedy end and get back on the road to a peaceful resolution of this dispute”, he promised. He was also concerned about the arrival of 300 foreign fighters in the region from Syria. “This is a very serious, new fact, which also changes the situation”, Mr Macron explained, hoping for a “rigorous” discussion with Ankara on this point.
See the conclusions: https://bit.ly/3nhOKPB (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant, with Mathieu Bion and Pascal Hansens)