MEDIA: Michel renews efforts to bring lasting Peace to South Caucasus

ArmInfo. EU Council President Charles Michel is renewing efforts to bring a lasting peace to the South Caucasus, as tensions rise in the war-torn region, Politico reported. 

Two senior diplomats confirmed to Politico, that the former Belgian prime minister had held bilateral meetings with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan on the sidelines of the European Political Community summit in the UK earlier this month. "Michel also wrote a letter to both sides, urging them to return to the negotiating table and "finalize the peace agreement" by making progress on outstanding issues like border delimitation. 

However, frustration has been growing in Brussels after months of delays and diplomatic deadlock that has seen a long-awaited truce fail to materialize," the source writes. 

The author of the publication notes that despite the meetings with Michel, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev have failed to find an opportunity to sit down with each other. 

"Ultimately, it's up to both sides to stop playing games and seal the deal as President Michel has done everything in the EU's power to reach a peace agreement," a senior EU diplomat close to Michel said. 

Politico also notes that Michel's appeal, which has not been publicly reported, comes just nine months after Azerbaijan launched a military offensive to retake the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, sparking an exodus of its 100,000 ethnic Armenian residents." 

"The violence came after months of talks hosted by Michel and despite warnings from the West that only a diplomatic solution could bring peace to the region.  Now, tensions are once again rising and Azerbaijan's Ministry of Defense last week accused Armenia of "committing provocations" along the two countries' shared border and threatened to "take necessary response measures using all means at their disposal for the purposes of self-defense." Armenia says the claims are disinformation.  Azerbaijan has also criticized the military support provided by EU countries like France to Yerevan in an effort to create a balance of power between the two historical rivals," the publication says. 

To recall that on July 22, the EU Council decided to provide the first-ever assistance measure in support of the Armenian Armed Forces worth ?10 million.