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Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Paruyr Hovhannisyan claims European Council President Charles Michel’s statement on the territorial integrity of Armenia and Azerbaijan refers to the recognition of each other’s Soviet-era borders.

In his press remarks after the Brussels talks with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Sunday, Michel said the two leaders “confirmed their unequivocal commitment to the 1991 Almaty Declaration and the respective territorial integrity of Armenia (29,800 km2) and Azerbaijan (86,600 km2).”

“The European Council chief’s statement that the two countries should recognize each other's territorial integrity entails recognition of the borders that existed at the time of the Soviet Union’s collapse in line with the Almaty Declaration,” Hovhannisyan told reporters on Monday.

The meeting was mostly aimed at achieving tangible progress in negotiations, he stated, adding Michel’s remarks reveal that the talks “were more substantive”.

Asked about the withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Armenia’s sovereign territory, the deputy minister said that the issue had been repeatedly discussed with EU and U.S. officials. "The recognition of the borders implies the pullout of troops,” the diplomat said.