EUMA Head presents main tasks of mission

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.