Armenia, Azerbaijan agree to establish direct communication line

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed to establish a direct communication line at the level of Defense Ministers to serve as an incident prevention mechanism, according to a press release from the European Council President Charles Michel's office.

Michel held phone calls on 19 November with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia and President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, in follow up to discussions earlier this week on the situation in the region and in the context of preparations of the Eastern Partnership Summit, to be held in Brussels on December 15.

The European Council President proposed to host Pashinyan and Aliyev for a meeting in Brussels in the margins of the EaP Summit, to which the leaders agreed. They are set to meet in Brussels to discuss the regional situation and ways of overcoming tensions for a prosperous and stable South Caucasus, which the EU supports.

In clashes launched by Azerbaijan on November 16, the Armenian side has confirmed deaths and injuries, while 13 soldiers have been captured by Azerbaijan. Two combat positions too have gone under the control of Azeri forces, 24 Armenian troops have gone missing.