The European Union (EU) on Tuesday promised to provide support for resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The EU welcomed the Moscow Declaration as a good basis for further progress toward resolving the decades-long issue within the framework of the negotiation process of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)'s Minsk Group. The EU will do whatever it can to facilitate means to resolve regional conflicts, the bloc's foreign policy chief Javier Solana told reporters after the Cooperation Council meetings between the EU and three Southern Caucus countries -- Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.
Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and his Azeri counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov promised that the two sides would work to find ways to resolve the issue according to the Moscow document.
On Nov. 2, the presidents of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a joint declaration on the peaceful settlement of the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The parties pledged to improve the situation in the South Caucasus and affirm the importance of OSCE mediation, agreeing that "the peaceful settlement should be accompanied by legally binding international guarantees of all aspects and stages," the document said.
In a statement issued after a meeting between the EU-Armenian Cooperation Council, the EU said the recent crisis in Georgia confirmed that the EU plays a constructive role in the region and is stepping up its cooperation with the Southern Caucasus.
"Alongside deepening bilateral relations, the EU's Eastern Partnership initiative and the Black Sea Synergy will further strengthen relations with Southern Caucasus countries," said the statement.
During the meeting, the EU side presented the main points of the Eastern Partnership initiative, adopted by the European Commission on Dec. 3, which proposes the creation of a stronger policy framework for EU's future relations with eastern partners at both the bilateral and multilateral levels.
The EU also welcomed Armenian and Turkish efforts aimed at improving bilateral relations, including the recent meeting between the two countries' foreign ministers in Istanbul. On Tuesday, the EU and Armenia signed an agreement on air services.
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