Yerevan /Mediamax/. There is no consent in the EU on imposing sanctions against Azerbaijan.

POLITICO writes about it citing two European diplomats with direct knowledge of negotiations. According to them, only Lithuania suggested that all options be on the table, others like Romania and Austria had reservations, while Hungary showed the most skepticism.

“It’s quite stuck at the moment,” one of the diplomats said, adding that one reason could be the strength of countries’ relationships with Azerbaijan.

The second diplomat said that even if to assume that the suggestion to impose sanctions is agreed, Budapest would block talks for weeks as it has done during Russia sanctions discussions.

According to Tom de Waal, a senior fellow at Carnegie Europe, the gas deal was “a prime example” of mixed messaging from the EU.

“People like Charles Michel and in the External Action Service were focused on conflict resolution, while von der Leyen praised Aliyev and didn’t once mention the conflict or Armenians,” he said.

“Azerbaijan knew that it could use both negotiation and force and could exploit both European and Russian weaknesses,” de Waal added, calling for the EU to begin a “strategic audit on its Azerbaijan policy.”

Asked by POLITICO about why Ursula von der Leyen is yet to make a public pronouncement [on situation in Karabakh], a spokesperson for the Commission insisted “the EU position is clear” and that von der Leyen had made her views clear by sharing a post condemning the violence from the bloc’s top diplomat Josep Borrell on social media.

POLITICO also cites Azerbaijan’s foreign policy chief Hikmet Hajiyev as saying that his government did not expect sanctions from the EU.

“We don’t see such a risk because it’s irrational,” said Hajiyev.