BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 2. “The EU was not part of the mediation process during the times of occupation. We had the negotiations since 1992. It was an initiative of President of the European Council Charles Michel, who invited us and we supported that. Because we think that taking into account the level of cooperation between Azerbaijan and EU, and Armenia and EU, it's natural to be active,” said President Ilham Aliyev as he was interviewed by Euronews TV channel, Trend reports.
The head of state noted that after the Second Karabakh War, the Minsk Group was no longer functional, adding: “There should have been some international institution. I thought that the EU can be the best, because our relations with the EU are based on mutual respect, mutual trust and mutual interest. So, this initiative now is transforming into a very active format of dialogue, because we meet not only in Brussels, we also meet, for instance, on the sidelines of the European Political Community. Last time it was in Chișinău. I think it's important, because we do not allow a situation to stagnate. Because if it is stagnation, if it's again kind of a break with them, then we are not guaranteed from any dangerous scenario.”