The European Union has now joined the United States to clarify that a meeting scheduled with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Brussels next week will focus on issues related to Armenia and will not tackle the efforts of Yerevan and Baku to reach a peace deal.
Official Baku, and later Moscow, accused the U.S. and the EU of sowing divisions in the Caucasus region and derailing the ongoing Armenia and Azerbaijan normalization process.
Pashinyan is scheduled to meet with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels on April 5.
The State Department on Wednesday clarified that the meeting is meant to address Armenia’s humanitarian needs, as well as future prospects for Armenia’s economic sustainability. The State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller, who announced that USAID Director Samantha Power will also attend the meeting, did not rule out that the issue of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict would not come up.
The EU’s foreign affairs spokesperson Peter Stano told Armenia’s Public Television on Friday that claims, presumably by Baku, that next week’s meeting will address “security guarantees” to Armenia are “not true.”
“It will not touch upon issues other than EU/US-Armenia bilateral relations,” Stano added.
He noted that the focus will be on the sustainability of Armenia’s economy and bilateral cooperation with the country.
“The EU and the US share a commitment to support a stable, peaceful, secure and prosperous future for Armenia and the region,” Stano said. “This will be an opportunity to discuss deepening co-operation with Armenia to strengthen its economy, building on the EU-Armenia bilateral partnership.”
“A stable and sustainable Armenia means a stable South Caucasus. Our efforts are not directed against anyone, but in the interests of the entire region and its stability,” Stano added.
