In the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has pushed for a “negotiated solution” and “a lasting peace”. According to deputy government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann, the SPD politician phoned Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
Scholz made his rejection of the use of military force clear and underlined the importance of the greatest possible transparency regarding the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. EU Council President Charles Michel has the full support of the Federal Government in efforts to ease tensions in the Caucasus region.
Authoritarian-run Azerbaijan conquered Nagorno-Karabakh at the end of September after violent attacks. A good 100,000 residents of the predominantly Armenian population have since fled to their motherland.
There will probably be no mediation talks with Aliyev and Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on the sidelines of the European summit of 50 heads of state and government in Granada, which the EU had hoped for. Aliyev will not attend this Thursday’s meeting because of the “anti-Azerbaijani sentiment” of the remaining summit participants, the Azerbaijani news agency APA reported.
