ArmInfo. U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Kristina Kvie met with Markus Ritter, Head of Mission of the European Union Mission in Armenia (EUMA). According to the press service of the U.S. Embassy in Armenia, the purpose of the meeting is to discuss the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.
"The United States strongly supports the EU Monitoring Mission in Armenia.," the U.S. Embassy in Armenia said in a statement.
On January 23 this year, the Council of the EU has agreed to form a new European Union civilian mission in Armenia (EUMA) within the framework of the Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP). As stated in the EU message, the aim of the Mission is to promote stability in the border areas of Armenia, build confidence on the ground and provide an environment conducive to EU-supported efforts to normalize relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The EU civil mission in Armenia includes up to 100 specialists. More than 8 million euros have been allocated for the first four months of the Mission's work. EUMA's initial mandate will be for two years and its operational headquarters will be located in Armenia. The Civil Operations Commander will be Stefano Tomat, Managing Director of the EEAS Civil Planning and Conduct (CPCC) Division. The European Union deployed a new civilian mission to monitor the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border on 20 February. It included 8 French gendarmes and 15 policemen from Germany. The headquarters of the mission is located in Yeghegnadzor.