Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev held their third meeting in less than three weeks for fresh peace negotiations facilitated by the European Union (EU).

No specific agreements were reached during the meeting, which took place on the sidelines of a European summit in Moldova’s capital Chisinau. Aliyev and Pashinyan were accompanied by EU Chief Charles Michel, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

During the meeting, Charles Michel stated that the discussions focused on an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty, the security, and rights of Nagorno-Karabakh's population, the restoration of transport links between the two countries, and the border delimitation. However, he did not mention whether the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders made progress in bridging their differences. 

“This meeting has been a good preparation for the next meeting. It will take place in Brussels on July 21,” Michel told reporters after the talks that lasted for about 90 minutes. 

“It means that we are working hard, and we intend to support all the positive efforts in the direction of normalization of the relations,” he said, adding that the EU “will do everything” to facilitate the resolution of the conflict.

Later Armenian PM Pashinyan hailed the discussions as “useful” during an evening gathering with local Armenians from Moldova and Ukraine in Chisinau. He said that Baku appears to be accepting an Armenian proposal to use 1975 Soviet maps as a foundation for delimitating and demarcating the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. However, he did not clarify whether the conflicting parties had made any progress in narrowing their differences on the peace treaty.

The Elysee Palace also issued a statement following the extended-format meeting. “The European leaders called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to comply with all their commitments, in particular, to release prisoners of war as soon as possible. They also stressed the importance of the EU observation mission for the benefit of Armenia. Finally, the parties stressed the importance of defining rights and guarantees for the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh,” the statement reads.

The US also welcomed the progress made in the negotiations. A US Department of State official told VOA’s Armenian Service: “We are encouraged by the continued engagement and progress in negotiations between the parties on a peace treaty, including the meeting between the two leaders in Chisinau. Open dialogue is key to achieving progress. We will continue to promote dialogue and support the parties as they work toward a lasting and dignified peace.”