The EU on Friday expressed its support for the announcements made by Armenia and Azerbaijan for finalizing a peace deal to end their decades-long conflict and urged them to sign the treaty soon.
Baku and Yerevan, who fought two wars for control of Azerbaijan's region of Karabakh, said they had wrapped up talks on Thursday.
"The announcements represent a decisive step towards lasting peace and security in the region," the EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.
"We commend both sides for their persistent work over the past few years in this direction, both on the bilateral track and with the involvement of the international community. The EU welcomes Armenia paving the way for the finalization of the text," she said.
“It is key to keep this momentum and ensure smooth completion of this process with the same forward-looking and compromise-oriented approach, from both sides," the EU added.
"The EU fully supports the Armenia-Azerbaijan normalization process and stands ready to provide additional support and expertise, should the sides request it," the statement concluded.
A deal to normalize ties between the two Caucasus nations would be a major breakthrough in the region.
Antonio Costa, who heads the European Council representing the EU's 27 member states, congratulated Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on the peace deal.
"I now encourage you to move forward with a swift signature of the peace agreement," he wrote on X.
The sides announced that a consensus has been reached on all articles of the peace agreement on Thursday.
No further details were shared on the specific articles.
Relations between Baku and Yerevan have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan and seven adjacent regions, including Lachin.
Most of the territory was liberated by Azerbaijan during a 44-day war in the fall of 2020, which ended after a Russian-brokered peace agreement that opened the door to normalization talks and the demarcation of their border.
After a series of slow-moving negotiations, Azerbaijan rushed in troops last year in September and swiftly seized back Karabakh, whose entire population of nearly 120,000 people returned to Armenia after rejecting a reintegration program Baku offered.
Earlier in 2024, Armenia withdrew from several Azerbaijani villages it had controlled since the early 1990s as part of the peace process.
