On March 25, President of the European Council Charles Michel made a phone call to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev.
During the phone conversation, Charles Michel recalled his meeting with the President of Azerbaijan held on February 17, 2023, on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, and touched upon various issues, which were discussed during the trilateral meetings held from December 14, 2021, to August 31, 2022.
Charles Michel said that the European Union would continue its efforts to ensure lasting peace and security in the region. The President of the European Council also touched on the issues over the Lachin-Khankendi road of Azerbaijan and expressed his concern over the incidents that happened on the state border of Armenia and Azerbaijan in recent days.
President Ilham Aliyev once again emphasized that Azerbaijan supports the Brussels process. Touching upon the situation around the Lachin-Khankendi road, the President of Azerbaijan underlined that the claims made by Armenia regarding the alleged closure of this road are entirely false. “From December 12, 2022, until today, about 5,000 vehicles belonging to the Russian peacekeepers and the International Committee of the Red Cross, people in need of medical assistance and those accompanying them have passed through this road.”
The head of state noted that Armenia continues the transportation of ammunition and personnel to the territory of Azerbaijan, where the Russian peacekeeping forces are temporarily deployed.
The President of Azerbaijan touched upon Armenian leadership’s official statements, which are dangerous and lead to escalation. The head of state pointed out that a serviceman of the State Border Service was wounded during another provocation by Armenia on March 20, 2023, near the Armenia-Azerbaijan border where the European Union’s mission is deployed, and two more servicemen were martyred on March 5 during a provocation by illegal Armenian military units in Azerbaijan’s Karabakh region.
The Azerbaijani leader underlined that all these acts were the outcome of the dangerous policy pursued by Armenia.
