On September 20, President of the European Council Charles Michel made a phone call to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev.

During the phone conversation, the sides exchanged views on the situation in the region.

Charles Michel expressed his concern about the developments which occurred in the region.

President Ilham Aliyev said that the units of Armenia’s armed forces in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan had committed terrorist acts yesterday, killing police officers and civilians, and noted that Azerbaijan had to take local anti-terror measures in response to this.

The head of state touched upon the agreement on stopping anti-terror measures and called it a positive step: withdrawing the formations of Armenia’s armed forces, illegal armed groups laying down their weapons, their disarming, and the meeting to be held in Yevlakh. President Ilham Aliyev noted that the meeting in Yevlakh would center on the rights and obligations of the Karabakh Armenians based on the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Azerbaijan as well as their cultural, religious, municipal and other rights. The head of state pointed out that Azerbaijan implements this in the context of its domestic affairs.

The Azerbaijani President touched upon the support for the regional peace agenda, adding that unilateral steps can yield a reverse effect. The Azerbaijani leader underlined that the results would positively impact taking the Azerbaijan-Armenia peace treaty talks forward.

The President of the European Council described the end of anti-terror measures as a positive fact and expressed hope for ensuring a ceasefire. Charles Michel also positively assessed the meeting to be held in Yevlakh.