The European Commission issued a Progress Report Armenia on implementation of the European Neighborhood Policy in 2009.

According to it, negotiations within the Minsk Group on the peaceful settlement considerably intensified in 2009 and contributed to enhanced dialogue.

“The Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan held six bilateral meetings during the year. In addition, the Foreign Ministers of the two countries met a number of times, including during the OSCE Ministerial Council in December 2009 in Athens,” the report reads.

Besides, the European Commission referred to the joint presidential statement issued during the G8 Summit in L’Aquila in July 2009, urging the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan “to resolve the few differences remaining between them and finalize their agreement on the Basic Principles.”

“However, overall tensions remain and the situation continues to be fragile. Incidents of exchanges of fire and casualties on the line of contact continued to be reported and are cause for concern,” the report reads.