YEREVAN: Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to peace talks to address tensions over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, which borders both nations, local media cited Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan as saying.
Pashinyan’s office released a statement after he held talks in Brussels with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev. The two men also agreed that by the end of April they would set up a bilateral commission to delimit the joint border, the statement said.
“The Prime Minister of Armenia and the President of Azerbaijan instructed their foreign ministers to begin preparations for peace talks between the two countries,” the statement said. European Council President Charles Michel also attended the Brussels meeting.
Pashinyan’s office also said the two sides agreed to create “a bilateral commission on the delimitation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which will also be authorized to deal with questions of ensuring security and stability along the border.” It did not give details. Both Russia and the United States had expressed concern about recent developments in the dispute. Russia brokered a peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan after the two nations fought in and around Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020. Peacekeeping forces sent by Moscow have since been deployed to the disputed territory. –Agencies
