On April 6, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan held a meeting in Brussels, hosted by President of the European Council Charles Michel.

The meeting was held for a continuation of their discussions on the situation in the South Caucasus region and the development of EU relations with both countries. The leaders assessed the developments since their last meeting in Brussels in December 2021 and their videoconference, together with French President Macron, in February 2022.

During the meeting, it was agreed to instruct the foreign ministers of their respective countries to work on the preparation of a future peace treaty, which would address all necessary issues.

At the same time, it was also agreed to convene a Joint Border Commission by the end of April. The mandate of the Joint Border Commission will be to: delimit the bilateral border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and ensure a stable security situation along, and in the vicinity of, the borderline.

Richard Hoagland, the former co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group from the US, noted that clear leadership from President Ilham Aliyev is moving the region towards peace and a better future.

"Undoing decades of conflict is no easy matter – strong feelings continue to simmer on both sides. However, calm and clear leadership from both President Aliyev and Prime Minister Pashinyan is setting the tone for the two nations to follow toward a safer and, ultimately, more prosperous future. Both sides have a long and difficult road ahead,” he said.

In turn, Former US Ambassador to Azerbaijan Robert Cekuta told Trend that the meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders is an important and hopeful step, especially coming so soon after their last meeting with European Council President Michel December 14. This uptick in western European efforts to help Azerbaijanis and Armenians move towards peace is quite encouraging.

“In terms of what was announced coming out of the meeting – the leaders taking stock of developments since their December meeting and also their February meeting with President Macron, their discussion of the recent tensions and unfortunate incidents, the need to abide by the provisions of the November 2020 ceasefire agreement, the importance of both sides working to resolve humanitarian issues, work on de-mining, instructing the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan to work on preparing a peace treaty, and convening a Joint Border Commission by the end of April — all of these are important, needed, positive steps,” Cekuta noted.

Again, he said, overcoming the more than three decades of conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan is not going to be easy.

“It is going to take time, determination, perseverance, and hard work to build the understanding and the level of trust necessary for peace. But it is good, very good to see President Aliyev and Prime Minister Pashinyan undertaking this difficult work,” Cekuta added.

However, he said, it is also important for everyone to recognize this process is likely going to take time, and that there will probably be what seem like setbacks and disappointments.

“This is the nature of any negotiations. Again, this is welcome and I would say overdue development. At the end of the day, no outside party can impose a peace; an effective, lasting peace agreement needs to be developed and entered into force by Azerbaijan and Armenia,” he noted.

Cekuta pointed out that outside actors can help move that process forward and help develop the confidence and conditions essential for progress towards a peace agreement.