A peaceful South Caucasus that benefits all people living in the region is our objective, European Council President Charles Michel said on Saturday after he discussed the situation in the region with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev over the phone.
"(I) continued discussions with President Aliyev on the situation in the South Caucasus region and the development of EU relations with Azerbaijan," Michel said on Twitter.
"A peaceful South Caucasus that benefits all people living in the region is our objective," he said, following his conversation with Aliyev.
He also reassured that "the EU will remain engaged and support dialogue."
Michel, who presides over meetings of EU leaders and represents the bloc in international affairs, has made significant diplomatic efforts for reconciliation between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
As part of the ongoing process, Michel hosted a meeting between Aliyev and Pashinian on April 6 in Brussels where the two sides expressed willingness to secure a peace agreement.
Michel also discussed efforts for peace and stability in the South Caucasus with Pashinian in a phone call on Friday.
"Discussed with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan prospects for the further work toward advancing a stable, peaceful and prosperous future for the South Caucasus," Michel said on Twitter.
He also underlined that the EU remains committed "to supporting Armenia and Azerbaijan in their dialogue."
Aliyev called on Friday for negotiations to take place soon on a peace treaty with Armenia, but said Yerevan would need to renounce any territorial claim against his country, the Interfax news agency reported.
Aliyev said the two former Soviet republics, which fought their last major war in 2020, could reach an agreement quickly if Armenia accepts the principles his country had set forward.
"Armenia must officially recognize the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, as well as the fact that it does not have any territorial claims against Azerbaijan, and will not have any in the future either," he was quoted as saying.
Otherwise, "we will not recognize the territorial integrity of Armenia, we will announce it officially," he said.
Speaking to Armenia's parliament after Aliyev's comments, Pashinian said he would not sign any peace deal with Azerbaijan without consulting ethnic Armenians in Karabakh, previously referred to as Nagorno-Karabakh.
At least 6,500 people were killed in a six-week war in 2020, the latest flare-up of a conflict dating back to the collapse of the Soviet Union. It ended when Russia brokered a peace treaty and sent peacekeepers to the flashpoint region of Karabakh, which lies inside Azerbaijan but had been illegally occupied by Armenia before Azerbaijan liberated the region in the latest round of fighting.
RIA news agency quoted Pashinian as saying, "I rule out that I would come close to signing a document that would not have undergone extensive public discussion, including with all the layers of society in Karabakh."
"This is a cast-iron guarantee that the fate of Karabakh cannot be decided behind the backs of the people," he added.
Azerbaijan is in a strong negotiating position after emerging as the decisive victor, recapturing its internationally recognized territory that had been under Armenian occupation since 1991. But many questions remain unresolved, including over the demarcation of borders.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has frequently called for a six-nation platform for permanent peace, stability and cooperation in the region, saying it would be a win-win initiative for all regional actors in the Caucasus.
Turkey believes that permanent peace is possible through mutual security-based cooperation among the states and people of the South Caucasus region.