BAKU: Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Monday expressed Baku’s appreciation for the EU’s mediation in peace negotiations between his country and neighboring Armenia. A statement by the Azerbaijani presidency highlighted Aliyev’s talks with visiting EU Council President Charles Michel in the capital, where the EU’s mediation role in ongoing negotiations between Baku and Yerevan was emphasized.
According to Anadolu Agency, Aliyev noted that it was during Michel’s mediation that the structure of the negotiations and the agenda of important directions between Azerbaijan and Armenia were formed. Michel, in turn, expressed hope for significant decisions regarding climate change at the 29th UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) currently held in Baku.
The statement indicated that Michel conveyed climate change as a key topic on the EU’s agenda and that discussions between the two leaders also covered the prospects for developing relations between the EU and Azerbaijan. Michel took to X to congratulate Aliyev o
n hosting COP29, affirming the EU’s commitment to financial solidarity and climate goals.
Michel underlined that he and Aliyev discussed all aspects of bilateral relations, including the ongoing peace talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia. He added that the EU is prepared to support efforts for a stable, peaceful, and prosperous Caucasus.
Since early Monday, Aliyev has engaged in talks with multiple leaders attending COP29, including those from Finland, Iraq, Mongolia, Slovakia, and Serbia, as well as the premiers of Belgium and Georgia. Relations between Baku and Yerevan have been tense since 1991, following the Armenian military’s occupation of Karabakh and adjacent regions, territories internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.
Most of these territories were liberated by Azerbaijan during the 2020 war, which concluded with a Russian-brokered peace agreement, paving the way for ongoing normalization and demarcation talks. Azerbaijan established full sovereignty in Karabakh in September 2023, follow
ing an “anti-terrorist operation” after which separatist forces in the region surrendered.