ArmInfo.Armenia's Premier Nikol Pashinyan, at a discussion on Security and Stability in the South Caucasus. Armenia prospects, thanked the EJU, particularly the German government, for their efforts in sending an EU civilian mission to Armenia.
The modern world is experiencing geopolitical shifts. Growing tensions and unpredictability are shattering the world order and international security system, causing more problems, especially for democratic Armenia.
"We witnessed the first present-day budding challenges and collapse of Europe's security architecture in our region back in 2020, when Azerbaijan unleashed a war against Nagorno-Karabakh.
"After the trilateral statement was signed on November 9, 2020, Azerbaijan has not abandoned its bellicose policy of threats. Moreover, it launched a new aggression against Armenia's sovereign territories in May 2021, November 2021 and September 2022," Mr Pashinyan said.
During the last aggression, on September 13-14, 2022, Azerbaijan launched a full-scale offensive against Armenia's military and civilian infrastructure, using heavy artillery, missile-launchers and combat drone. The Armenian side lost 225 people killed, including three civilians, with over 150sq. kilometers of Armenia's sovereign territories occupied.
"There is no passing over in silence numerous cases of torture of prisoners or abuse of corpses (including female soldiers) by Azerbaijani servicemen. The horrific videos showing Azerbaijani servicemen committing atrocities must be considered by the international community. One more problem is Azerbaijan hiring Syrian mercenaries," Mr Pashinyan said.
During the aggression last September, when Armenia's "external security system failed," Armenia requested an extraordinary meeting of the U.S. Security Council, which actually took place on September 15, 2022, when member-states emphasized the unacceptability of use of force and pointed to Azerbaijan as the aggressor. They highlighted the importance of respecting international humanitarian right and pointed out the fact of attacks against Armenia's civilian infrastructure.
The four-partite meeting between Emmanuel Macron, Charles Michel, Ilham Aliyev and Nikol Pashinyan in Prague on October 6, 2022, proved an important step toward de-escalation, when an agreement on the deployment of a short-term EU monitoring mission was reached along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. On December 19, 2022, that mission's mandate expired, and, meeting Armenia's request, the EU Council approved the deployment of an EUMA in Armenia for two years, Mr Pashinyan said.
"The mission will be a crucial role in ensuring regional security and stability, as well as in providing timely and reliable reports on the current situation to our EU partners," Armenia's premier said.
At a press conference jointly with Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz on March 2, Armenia's Premier Nikol Pashinyan stated that "will probably sign a document regulating the presence of the monitoring mission in the near future, when we negotiate and reach a general agreement on the wording of the already reached agreements."
The EUMA is a neutral and non-executive mission, which will have a two-year mandate, and was formally established by the European Council decision on 23 January 2023. The Mission will be deployed on the Armenian side of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border and will contribute to stability in the border areas of Armenia, build confidence and human security in conflict affected areas, and ensure an environment conducive to the normalisation efforts between Armenia and Azerbaijan supported by the EU. The total - exclusively civilian - staff of the EUMA will be approximately one hundred persons, including around fifty unarmed observers.
The Operational Headquarters of the mission will be in Yeghegnadzor, in Armenia's Vayots Dzor province. EEAS Managing Director of Civilian Planning and Conduct Capability (CPCC) Stefano Tomat will serve as the Civilian Operation Commander, while Markus Ritter will serve as the Head of Mission. EUMA was preceded by an EU Monitoring Capacity in Armenia (EUMCAP).
The latter had deployed EU observers from the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia from 20 October until 19 December 2022. On January 23, the EU Council agreed to establish a civilian European Union Mission in Armenia (EUMA) under the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). The objective of the Mission is to contribute to stability in the border areas of Armenia, building confidence on the ground, and ensuring an environment conducive to normalisation efforts between Armenia and Azerbaijan supported by the EU.
"The establishment of an EU Mission in Armenia launches a new phase in the EU's engagement in the South Caucasus. The EU will continue to support de-escalation efforts and is committed to work closely with both sides towards the ultimate goal of sustainable peace in the region," Josep Borrell, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said.