The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan met in the Albanian capital, Tirana, on the sidelines of the sixth European Political Community Summit that brought together leaders of 47 countries. The two sides discussed the current situation and underlined the importance of continuing efforts toward signing a peace agreement. No details of the meeting held on 16 May have been disclosed but published photographs and video footage show Armenia Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev informally across a coffee table.
In March 2025, both countries announced that they had reached agreement on all provisions of a peace treaty. However, immediately afterwards, Baku suggested new preconditions for signing the document. Azerbaijan is demanding constitutional amendments in Armenia and the formal dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group.
In an interview with an Azerbaijani journalist on the eve of the Tirana meeting, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan reiterated that Armenia harbours no territorial claims against its neighbours, a point confirmed by the country’s Constitutional Court, he noted. Pashinyan also stressed that Baku’s main concerns are already addressed within the draft peace agreement itself.
Meanwhile, the European Union said that Armenia and Azerbaijan are close to reaching agreement. “Azerbaijan and Armenia are very close to reaching an agreement. I believe it is in everyone’s interest to sign this peace treaty. One less conflict in the world would be a good outcome,” EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, said in Tirana.
The EU has expressed hope that Armenia and Azerbaijan will sign the agreed text of the peace treaty as soon as possible. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen issued a statement citing her recent meetings with the Armenian Prime Minister and the Azerbaijani President. “The EU is ready to invest in regional connectivity – and bring the whole region closer together and closer to our Union,” she wrote on X.
