Elysee Palace: Pashinyan, Aliyev reaffirmed recognition of each other’s territorial integrity

The Elysee Palace issued a statement following the meeting between the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, France, Germany and the European Council on Thursday.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met together with European Council President Charles Michel, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on the margins of the second European Political Community summit in Chisinau, Moldova.

The Elysee Palace said the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders reaffirmed their commitment to the Almaty Declaration on mutual recognition of each other’s borders and territorial integrity as announced earlier in Prague on October 6, 2022.

“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,” reads the statement.

It also said that Emmanuel Macron urged to refrain from any hostile rhetoric and highlighted the importance of continuing efforts to restore peace for the benefit of all peoples in the region.