Blow to European leaders’ summit as Azerbaijan, Turkey are no-shows
Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan pulled out of the gathering in Granada, Spain, at the last minute, robbing the summit of one of its key deliverables, an EU-brokered meeting with his Armenian counterpart to diffuse tensions in the Caucasus.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, a key ally of Aliyev, pulled out citing a cold.
The European Political Community (EPC) summit on Thursday will now see 45 leaders from across Europe gather to discuss common challenges and talk shop in an informal format. They will first gather in four working groups to discuss multilateralism, the environment, and digital issues including artificial intelligence with the war in Ukraine as the overarching theme.
They will then have a few hours to talk during bilateral meetings, which is when European Council President Charles Michel was hoping to sit down with Aliyev, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in a repeat of the previous two EPC summits.
The three EU leaders will however sit down with Pashinyan together.
‘Great responsibility on the side of Azerbaijan’
Aliyev’s decision not to attend the summit was down to an “anti-Azerbaijani atmosphere”, an Azerbaijani official told AFP.
The summit comes just two weeks after the country’s forces launched a lightning-quick military offensive to regain control of Nagorno-Karabakh from Armenian separatists, prompting a mass exodus of ethnic Armenians from the enclave and fuelling fears of ethnic cleansing.
Russian peacekeepers stationed in the mountainous region since a 2020 Russia-brokered peace deal that followed a brief but deadly conflict stood aside.
The EU condemned Azerbaijan’s offensive with Michel telling Euronews earlier this week that he was “extremely disappointed” by the Azeri decision. He called for negotiations to “pin down commitments from both sides,” stressing, however, that “there is a great responsibility on the side of Azerbaijan, which launched this military operation.”
The EU has also pledged millions in humanitarian aid to Armenia while France, on Tuesday, announced it would deliver military equipment to Yerevan
Tensions in the Balkans should also feature high on the agenda with a meeting between Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Vjosa Osmani, President of Kosovo, also a strong possibility. However, as Osmani’s role is largely ceremonial, a breakthrough is unlikely.
‘A productive day for Ukraine and Europe’
A leader that is likely to be in high demand is Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The Ukrainian leader said he is bringing “substantial proposals” to enhance the European security architecture.
“Ukraine’s key priority, particularly as winter approaches, is to strengthen air defence,” he added, citing “new agreements with partners” that need to be finalised and implemented.
“This should be a productive day for Ukraine and Europe as a whole,” he added.
The Elysée Palace has announced that Macron and Zelenskyy will meet.
The EPC summit will be followed on Friday by an informal gathering of the European Council, where the 27 leaders of the EU are expected to discuss enlargement, migration and the so-called Strategic Agenda, which sets out priority areas for the bloc for the next legislative term.
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