EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell speaks to reporters on Jan. 22

The European Union expressed serious concern over Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s latest territorial claims from Armenia when he doubled down on his scheme to have a land “corridor” through Armenia to Nakhichevan.

“The latest territorial claims by President Aliyev are very concerning, and any violation of Armenia’s territorial integrity would be unacceptable and will have severe consequences for our relations with Azerbaijan,” the EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Monday after a meeting of EU foreign ministers, which discussed the Armenia and Azerbaijan normalization process.

The EU foreign ministers reportedly called for ongoing peace talks between Yerevan and Baku, which have stalled because Azerbaijan has canceled previous-scheduled talks mediated by Brussels.

“We agreed that Azerbaijan needs to return to substantive peace and normalization talks with Armenia,” Borrell added.

Citing the November 9, 2020 agreement, Aliyev, earlier this month, renewed his claims for a so-called “corridor” through Armenia, saying that without such a route he would not open Azerbaijan’s borders with Armenia.

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov last week said that the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan never discussed a corridor, adding that it is not part of the November 9, 2020 agreement.

When making his “corridor” remarks, Aliyev also renewed his demand for Armenia’s withdrawal from “eight Azerbaijani villages,” which he claims Armenia is occupying.