BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 18. A number of new issues important for the normalization of Azerbaijani-Armenian relations were discussed at the latest meeting in Brussels unlike previous ones, Azerbaijani political analyst Aydin Guliyev told Trend.
"For the first time, the issue of using the Barda-Aghdam road [as an alternative to Lachin-Khankendi road for delivery of humanitarian cargo to Armenian residents of Azerbaijan's Karabakh] was discussed. Besides, it's necessary to emphasize the discussion of the issue of ensuring a worthy return of Western Azerbaijanis [Azerbaijani refugees from modern lands of Armenia] to their ancestral lands. This fact in itself indicates that the Brussels meeting is different from the previous ones," he said.
According to Guliyev, after the latest meeting, the next ones were announced.
"This proves that the Brussels format is the most successful for the normalization process. Unfortunately, the statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry after the Brussels meeting looks rather strange. It would be good if Russia took more positive steps towards the normalization. Russia seems to be concerned about the recognition of Karabakh by Armenia as the territory of Azerbaijan," the analyst noted.
"As the Azerbaijani side stated, the peace treaty [between Azerbaijan and Armenia] to be signed cannot contain any separate articles for the Armenian residents of Karabakh. There is also no need to use the expression "Nagorno-Karabakh" in the document. However, the Russian Foreign Ministry for some reason comes up with opposite proposals," Guliyev added.
On July 15, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev held a trilateral meeting with President of the Council of the European Union Charles Michel and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Brussels.