Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met on July 15 in Brussels with European Council President Charles Michel ahead of a trilateral meeting between Aliyev, Michel, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian scheduled to take place that day amid tensions over a blockade by Azerbaijan of the Lachin Corridor.
Armenia and Azerbaijan are trying to make progress toward a peace settlement in the long-running dispute over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Aliyev has said that Azerbaijan's position on peace negotiations is clear, logical, and based on international law.
He said much progress on the recognition of borders was made during direct talks in May and it is now "time for the same words to be confirmed on paper, signatures to be made, and relations to be established."
An EU official told AFP the meeting scheduled for July 15 between Pashinian, Aliyev, and Michel -- the sixth in nearly two years -- would cover humanitarian issues, border delimitation, the peace treaty, rights and security of Karabakh Armenians, and connectivity.
Thousands of people gathered earlier on July 14 in Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh, to protest the blockade by Azerbaijan of the Lachin Corridor, the only land link between the breakaway region and Armenia.
Azerbaijan's State Border Service (SBS) said on July 11 that traffic through a checkpoint in the Lachin Corridor had been suspended pending an investigation after "various types of contraband" had been discovered in Red Cross vehicles coming from Armenia.
The move sparked concerns over a humanitarian crisis in the restive enclave, which Armenia has said is experiencing food shortages.
The protest by some 6,000 people came as Pashinian voiced hope that progress will be made on a peace treaty when he meets with Aliyev.
Speaking at a government meeting on July 13, Pashinian denounced the blockade, saying it contradicts a ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which in February ordered Azerbaijan to ensure free movement along the road.
"As far as the illegal blockade of the Lachin Corridor and the deepening humanitarian crisis are concerned, the binding ruling of the ICJ creates a possibility for a greater international consolidation to prevent Azerbaijan's policy of ethnic cleansing in Karabakh," Pashinian said.
He also urged international unity against the blockade of the Armenian-populated region.
Vehicles of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), meanwhile, were able to transport 11 patients and people accompanying them from Nagorno-Karabakh to medical centers in Armenia, the Health Ministry of Nagorno-Karabakh said.
Zara Amatuni, spokeswoman for the organization’s Armenian branch, told AFP the 11 patients were in serious condition and were transported over the Lachin Corridor.
The ICRC earlier denied the Azerbaijani allegations about contraband in a statement saying none of the vehicles under its control was involved in smuggling.
But it said that four hired drivers had without its knowledge tried to transport some commercial goods in their own vehicles, which were displaying the ICRC emblem. The individuals were not ICRC staff members and they were fired, the ICRC said.
Azerbaijan said the decision to temporarily shut the Lachin Corridor was made after the Red Cross failed to "prevent illegal actions," such as smuggling mobile phones from Armenia to Karabakh using the organization's medical vehicles.
An EU official told AFP the meeting scheduled for July 15 between Pashinian, Aliyev, and Michel -- the sixth in nearly two years -- would cover humanitarian issues, border delimitation, the peace treaty, rights and security of Karabakh Armenians, and connectivity.
The simmering conflict led to a six-week war in 2020 in which nearly 7,000 soldiers were killed on both sides. The fighting resulted in Armenia and ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh losing control over parts of the region and seven adjacent districts.