June 14, 2021 - 18:38 AMT
EU stresses confidence building gestures by Baku, Yerevan

The European Union welcomes the actions taken by Armenia and Azerbaijan and facilitated by Georgia that led to the release by Azerbaijan of 15 Armenian detainees and the handing over by Armenia of maps of mined areas on Saturday, June 12, High Representative Josep Borrell said in a statement on Sunday.

Azerbaijan handed over 15 PoWs to Armenia in exchange for maps of minefields in the Aghdam region of Nagorno-Karabakh on June 12. The deal was negotiated with the active facilitation of Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and Acting U.S. Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Philip Reeker.

"These are important humanitarian and confidence building gestures by Baku and Yerevan that will hopefully open the path for further cooperation between the sides and the ultimate release of all Armenian detainees, as well as the handing over of all available maps of mined areas to avoid further civilian casualties," Borrell said.

"The European Union and other international actors have actively encouraged moves in this direction and we urge further cooperation between the countries involved."

"We will continue to promote a durable and comprehensive settlement of the conflict, including where possible through support for stabilisation, post conflict rehabilitation and confidence building measures and reiterate our call on Armenia and Azerbaijan to reengage in substantive negotiations under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs."