The European Union urged Armenia and Azerbaijan on Friday, October 27 to finalize a bilateral peace agreement before the end of 2023.

The EU’s decision-making Council discussed the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, among other issues, at a two-day meeting held in Brussels.

“The European Council underlines the importance of ensuring the rights and security of the Karabakh Armenians, including those who wish to return to their homes,” it said in a concluding statement. “It supports the Brussels normalization process and calls on the Parties to engage in good faith and to finalize this process by the end of this year.”

Council President Charles Michel said the 27-nation bloc is “determined” to continue its efforts to broker such a deal.

“We had a strategic exchange on this subject, it was important to be well coordinated,” Michel told a news conference in Brussels, RFE/RL’s Armenian service reports.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev had been expected to sign a document laying out the key parameters of a peace treaty at a meeting with Michel and the leaders of Germany and France slated for October 5. However, Aliyev withdrew from the talks at the last minute, citing pro-Armenian statements made by French officials. Michel said afterwards that the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders will likely hold a trilateral meeting with him in Brussels later in October.

Armenian and EU officials confirmed on Thursday that the rescheduled meeting will not take place in the coming days. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said Aliyev “did not find the time” for it.

Yerevan maintains that the main hurdle to the signing of the peace treaty is Baku’s reluctance to recognize Armenia’s existing borders. The two sides continue to disagree on mechanisms for delimiting the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

Russia has been very critical of Western peace efforts, saying that their main goal is to drive Moscow out of the South Caucasus. The Russian Foreign Ministry on Thursday chided Yerevan for preferring the EU mediation and declining Russian offers to host more Armenian-Azerbaijani talks.