Armenia, Azerbaijan agree Karabakh peace talks, will discuss border

Armenia and Azerbaijan on Wednesday agreed to peace talks to address tensions over the long-disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, which borders both nations, the office of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said.

The European Union, which hosted the meeting between the two former Soviet states, said it hoped the discussions would serve as the first step in a durable peace.

It was the third meeting in six months between Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev after a conflict in 2020 in which Azerbaijan recaptured territory in and around the enclave that the Armenians had held for decades.

Pashinyan's office said the two men had agreed that by the end of April they would set up a bilateral commission.

"The Prime Minister of Armenia and the President of Azerbaijan instructed their foreign ministers to begin preparations for peace talks," it said in a statement.

There was no immediate comment from Azerbaijan.

European Council President Charles Michel, who helped facilitate Wednesday's meeting, said he hoped the talks would help bring together the two sides.

"I am confident that tonight we took an important step in the right direction. It doesn't mean that everything is solved, of course," he told reporters in Brussels.

Both Russia and the United States had expressed concern about recent developments.