President of the European Council Charles Michel has said that Azerbaijan will release further Armenian prisoners of war in the coming weeks.

Michel made the remarks at a press conference, following the trilateral meeting with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia and President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan.

"On humanitarian issues, there has been an understanding that further detainees would be released in the coming weeks. I also stressed the need to safeguard the mutual understanding that soldiers who have simply got lost and crossed to the other side would continue to be released through a speedy procedure. We also discussed the importance of stepping up work on addressing the fate of missing persons and on demining," Michel said.

"We continued our exchanges on the issue of the rights and security of Armenians living in the former Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast. I encouraged Azerbaijan to engage in developing a positive agenda with the aim of guaranteeing the rights and security of this population, in close cooperation with the international community. I also raised the need for a transparent and constructive dialogue between Baku and this population."

According to him, it is important to refrain from hostile rhetoric, engage in good faith and show leadership to reach mutually-acceptable solutions.

"The EU has no hidden agenda. Our sole aim is to help Armenia and Azerbaijan reach a comprehensive and fair peace. We are ready to contribute to their joint efforts," the top EU official said.

"We have agreed to hold the Brussels meetings as often as necessary. Leaders will meet again in Brussels in July. And as was already announced publicly, we will also meet again in the very near future together with President Macron of France and Chancellor Scholz of Germany on the margins of the 2nd European Political Community Summit in Chișinău. I also intend to invite the leaders for another such meeting in the margins of the third EPC summit in Granada in October."

Michel also said that Armenia recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan with an area of 86,600 km2 - which also includes Nagorno Karabakh. According to him, Azerbaijan too recognizes the territorial integrity of Armenia.