Armenian Foreign Minister: People of Artsakh face real danger of  ethnic cleansing

ArmInfo. The mandate of the civil mission of the European Union is clearly regulated by the decision of the Council of the EU. RA Foreign Minister Ararat  Mirzoyan stated on March 22 during the government hour in the RA  National Assembly.

According to him, we should take into account that that the mandate  of the mission is of a civilian nature.  For the Armenian side, its  activity is another important mechanism that should serve the peace  process, stability in the region, and an objective assessment of the  situation. "Allegations that the Armenian side resorts to  provocations behind the back of the EU do not correspond to reality,"  the head of the foreign policy department said.

Speaking about the importance of the return of internally displaced  persons to their homes, the minister stressed that immediately after  the signing of the tripartite statement dated November 9, 2020, the  country's Foreign Ministry began working with the office of the UN  High Commissioner for Refugees in order to fulfill the 7th paragraph  of the statement providing for the return of refugees to Artsakh and  the territories closest to it, which came under the control of  Azerbaijan. < The work with the management continues, we are in  active contact. Of course, there are obstacles, which, as you  understand, are connected with the position of Azerbaijan. But in  this issue, the Armenian side also strives to be as constructive as  possible in order to find solutions," Mirzoyan noted, adding that  work is also underway to develop a mechanism for preventing genocide.  Efforts in this direction have intensified, since the people of  Artsakh face a real danger of ethnic cleansing, as well as the danger  of genocide, which is manifested in the statements of the Azerbaijani  authorities at the highest level.

It should be reminded that on January 23 the Council of the EU  approved the dispatch of the EU civil mission to Armenia for a period  of two years. The EU Civil Mission in Armenia (EUMA Armenia) includes  up to 100 specialists to monitor and inform the situation on the  ground. More than 8 million euros have been allocated for the first  four months of the Mission's work. The operational headquarters of  the mission is located in Armenia. EEAS Managing Director of Civilian  Planning and Conduct Capability (CPCC) Stefano Tomat, serves as the  Civilian Operation Commander, while Markus Ritter serves as the Head  of Mission.