ArmInfo.Markus Ritter, Head of Mission of the European Union Mission in Armenia (EUMA), spoke about the main tasks of the monitoring group headed by him, which began its activities in the territory of the Republic of Armenia in the second decade of February.
Markus Ritter from Germany has previously worked in South Sudan, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Georgia and will be in Armenia for the next 2 years.
Thus, in an interview with the Public Television of Armenia, he said that the EU mission in Armenia has three tasks: to patrol along the border with Azerbaijan, including on the border with Nakhijevan, and report on everything; ensure the safety of people through patrols, which means visiting villages, border areas, showing people that they are here and their job is to take care of them; introduction of confidence building mechanisms. According to him, the last point is already a matter for the future, and now the priority is to monitor the situation along the border. Referring to the choice of the location of the office, Ritter noted that Yeghegnadzor was chosen because the purpose of the mission is to be as close as possible to the border of the two countries.
, he said, adding that in this way they cover the entire length of the border with Azerbaijan.
Patrols can sometimes last 24 hours, it all depends on the need, including the weather. Now, when the winter is still holding on, it is difficult to get to the mountainous regions.
He also said that at the moment there are about 50 specialists on site, the rest will arrive in March-April. < We have representatives from 25 EU member states: France, Germany, Portugal, Poland, Sweden and other countries. The statement released by the European Council emphasizes that 50 unarmed observers participated in the mission, the other 50 will be administrative personnel>, Ritter specifies.
According to him, they have observers, but they also need administrative staff, security specialists, doctors and journalists are also involved in the work of the mission.
The head of the mission stressed that the most important thing is to ensure the security of the population of the border areas.
"We regularly patrol the villages affected by this conflict. By our presence, we show the locals that the international community is there to protect them. We are here to make people feel safe."
The head of the mission emphasizes that their activities are transparent, during observations, if necessary, they also take photographs. The mission sends reports to Brussels weekly in a closed format.
< Not only about the situation at the border, but also about the work we are doing, that is, we inform them every week about what we are doing. The reports are closed, we only have the authority to send them to Brussels, and there they can decide whether to publish them or not. For more than 1 week of observations, no ceasefire violations have been recorded>, the head of the mission added.
At the same time, Ritter believes that their presence seems to influence the situation to some extent, because both sides know that there is an international monitoring team here.
, he concluded.