Encouraged by substantive bilateral contacts between Baku and Yerevan  - Toivo Klaar

ArmInfo. Toivo Klaar, EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia, posted the following message on his X account: 

"Ending two days of good meetings in Armenia. Emphasised the EU  continued support for a comprehensive Armenian-Azerbaijani peace  settlement. Encouraged by substantive bilateral contacts between Baku  and Yerevan and looking forward to also fully re-engage with  Azerbaijani interlocutors following elections."

On January 18, Mr Klaar met with Armenia's Deputy FM Vahan Kostanyan.

During the meeting, the parties discussed the recent developments on  regional security and establishment of peace. In this context, the  Deputy Foreign Minister drew the attention of interlocutors to the  destructive statements made by the President of Azerbaijan in his  recent interview, which aim to deviate from the peace agenda.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Vahan Kostanyan stressed that the  former USSR member states, including Armenia and Azerbaijan,  recognize each other's borders in accordance with the Alma-Ata  Declaration of December 1991, and the delimitation work should be  carried out on the basis of the latest maps available at the time of  the dissolution of the USSR. The Deputy Minister also emphasized the  imperative of the withdrawal of the Azerbaijani armed forces from the  sovereign territory of Armenia.

Vahan Kostanyan noted that Azerbaijan is hindering the process of  unblocking regional infrastructures, the four well-known principles  of which - sovereignty, jurisdiction, reciprocity and equality - have  been previously agreed between the parties.

Mr Klaar also met with Armenia's Vice-Premier Mher Grigoryan.

Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Vassilis Maragos   also attended the meeting.

The parties discussed regional developments during the meeting,  Grigoryan's Office said.

In a latest interview, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated Baku  had not intention to withdraw its troops from the  Azerbaijani-Armenian border. He also noted that the conclusion of a  peace agreement with Armenia should not depend on the issue of border  delimitation, since Azerbaijan has not currently completed border  delimitation with other neighboring countries. And the Azerbaijani  leader called the opening of the so-called "Zangezur corridor" a  condition for opening the border with Armenia.