Tuesday, July 16 2024 16:55

ArmInfo.EU Mission in Armenia (EUMA) was launched by the decision of EU Foreign Affairs Council on  20 February 2023, when it also started its operational activities.  EUMA is tasked with observing and reporting on the situation on the ground, contributing to human security in conflict-affected areas and supporting the confidence building between Armenia and Azerbaijan, where possible. EUMA is an essential component of the EU's efforts in supporting peace and stability in the region.

The EU established the Mission in response to an official request by  the Armenian authorities to deploy a full-fledged EU civilian mission  on the ground. This deployment follows the successful experience of  the EU Monitoring Capacity (EUMCAP) deployed previously on the  Armenian side of the Armenia- Azerbaijan border between 20 October  2022 and 19 December 2022.

The Hague Research Institute for Eastern Europe, the South Caucasus  and Central Asia had the chance to speak to EUMA's Head of Mission,  Dr. Markus Ritter.

Thank you, Dr. Ritter, for your time and to speak to our research  institute, it is highly appreciated. To start, could you elaborate on  the mandate of EUMA and comment on whether or not it has been  successful thus far?

The mandate of the mission is to patrol alongside the border and the  line of confrontation between Armenia and Azerbaijan. We report on  incidents and through our presence at the border aim to calm down the  situation and avoid any new incidents.

We also have as a second line of operations, which is to patrol in  the conflict affected area on the Armenian side to meet with the  population there, to visit villages, farms, small towns near the  border and the line of confrontation, to increase the sense of  security in these areas, to give the people the feeling that they are  not alone, that there's somebody who is taking care.

The third line of operation is through our presence and through our  patrolling and reporting to contribute to confidence building between  Armenia and Azerbaijan. By all these activities, the idea was for the  mission to facilitate the peace process that was started by Charles  Michel, by the president of the European Council and to be his ears  and eyes on the ground.

Do you believe the operation has been successful so far and how do  you measure this?

We are now patrolling since February last year, so it is the 15th  month now.  I think we are successful because the number of incidents  has decreased. Also, since we are here, there was only one incident  where there was shooting on civilians in a village. This happened  much more often before the start of our mission.

And we learned from both sides that through our patrolling and also  our communication on social media such as X (formerly Twitter) we  helped to defuse the situation. For example, last Easter, there were  allegations from Azerbaijan that Armenia wanted to start an  offensive. We patrolled the area and made a statement that everything  was calm and quiet and that we do not see any unusual movements.  Because of this this, we heard from several sides that we really have  had a huge impact on calming down the tensions.

Has the EUMA itself ever been involved in any incidents, such as  shootings or dangerous situations?

No, up to now we have never been threatened or shot at. We have been  eyewitness of shootings in the distance, but we were never targeted.  Our patrols have never been involved.

Recently, we saw positive development in the case of border  demarcation between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Tavush region,  where Armenia will cede territory to Azerbaijan. This has led to  protests in Armenia. How does this affect the mission?

Actually, we are staying away from this area of these four villages  because there are a lot of emotions and tensions at the moment. We do  not want to engage with that or be a reason for demonstrations since  this is a political decision made by the Armenian government. If the  handover will take place we will continue our patrols on the Armenian  side and it will not affect us much.

How can you maintain an overview of this area?

We are going into this area, but we are avoiding to drive into these  villages. So we have our observation positions and what we see, what  we can report is if there are any military movements, any changes of  positions, but we have not seen this yet.

Last year February, there there was an incident in the southern  Syunik province in the Nerkin Han village, where the EU mission was  not allowed to observe a certain area. I believe it was blocked by  Russian forces present in the area. How has that affected EUMA?

It did not affect us. Since our existence here, there have been  several incidents in which also, sadly, deaths have occurred. But in  this case, as you said, this was an area where we had no access.  There is a roadblock by the Russian FSB border guards. It has no  effect on us.

And this remains the only area where you really have limited access?  Or has it now changed positively?

Yes, but your question was if this incident affected us. We do not  start things on our own. At the moment we agreed not to visit this  area because there a negotiations taking place between the Armenian  and Russian side.

  We are in weekly contact with the Armenian side. As soon as they tell  us we can go (to Nerkin Hand), we will start because, as I said, we  have freedom of movement everywhere. At the moment, we know that this  is reduced but it has not been clarified if the Russian have left  (Nerkin Hand) at all. We wait on green light from the Armenian  government.

Could you elaborate on the human security patrols you mentioned? How  do you engage with the challenges of the local people? Do you engage  in resilience building?

What we are doing on a daily basis is visiting the people, visiting  the villages. We try to meet people there, to talk with them. Most of  them already know us now. We speak with the people we meet on the  street.  Also, we have appointments with the governor, with the  mayor, with the police chief, with teachers. So we are listening to  the local population. If we hear about needs, for example, for  displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh, we forward this to the EU  delegation in order to combine our efforts. They have the budget and  ability to help. What we also do is organizing meetings, small  seminars for the local civil society. We have a gender advisor who is  talking with them. In this frame, we are helping them and talking  with them, but we do not have the budget for huge projects.  We are  the actor that is the eyes and ears for Brussels and the EU  delegation. We forward information on where we identify needs or  possibilities to help. Also, we inform the EU member states  ambassadors once a month. That meeting is also an opportunity to  combine our efforts.

Would you say EUMA is similar to the European Union Monitoring  Mission in Georgia (EUMM)?

I am not so familiar with the mission in Georgia. I know that they  are patrolling along the borderline. The difference I know is that  there is no cross-border traffic between Armenia and Azerbaijan. This  does exist in the case of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Here there are  trenches and military positions, most of them in high altitude areas,  in remote places in the mountains. So it is quite different. The  patrolling however I think is very similar. But I think this conflict  here is still more "hot" than in Georgia. We have more incidents.  There has been a time when we were on the edge of a new conflict.

Is there any form of contact or cooperation between EUMA and the  Russian forces inside Armenia?  Does their presence pose any  challenges?

We are here on the invitation of the Armenian government. The same is  with the Russian forces. We do not interact with them because we have  no reason to interact with them. We see from time to time Russian  convoys on the street but that is all. Also, the European Union as  such has no official contact with Russia and that is the same for us.  So we have to obey the politics in Brussels. There is no interaction  with the Russians.

So you do not complement their presence at all?

No, we are planning our patrols and our presence on our own without  any meetings with them. We are planning on our own together with the  Armenian government.

Do you know of any discussions within the Armenian government about  removing more of the Russian presence, such as the Russian military  base in Gyumri?

We are aware of this, but only through the public media. I get media  reviews from embassies or the EU delegation from which I gather this  information.

What can you say about the relationship with Azerbaijan?

First, with our binocular we are not only looking at Azerbaijani  positions but also to Armenian positions.  Next they say that we are  bringing guests here, a lot of visitors and that we are talking badly  about Azerbaijan. I have no idea why they say this because they are  not present in these conversations. They do not know what we are  talking about. What we are doing is bringing member states,  representatives and seconding agencies to the border, to the Forward  Operating Bases (FOBs), because they want to see how their staff is  operating there and what they are doing. That is all that we are  doing, nothing more.

We are reporting very neutrally. We do not point fingers. We do not  accuse any sie of lying. We defuse the situation by visiting an area  and reporting neutrally on what we see. Sadly, we do not have a  relationship with Azerbaijan. I regret this. I once had a meeting  with Azerbaijani students in Georgia last year. That was the only  time I had contact with them but since then there has been no wish  nor will to cooperate with us. I can only accept this.

Do you feel the need to expand the mission because of your current  needs?

It was decided after the so-called anti-terrorist operation against  Nagorno-Karabakh that the mission will be expanded. So we are now  increasing from around 160 to 209 staff members. We are still in the  phase of building up. We have now reached nearly 130 staff.

So I can only tell you when we have reached 209 staff if this is  enough or not because I don't have any experience now with the  enlarged mission. So I cannot answer this question. Sorry.

What is your outlook for the next five years for the mission? Are you  hopeful about the full border delineation between Armenia and  Azerbaijan? And if such a thing would happen, perhaps that would make  the EU unnecessary.

Of course that is what we all would like. This is a mission that has  been established on a political decision.  Our stay here also depends  on political decisions. We all hope that there will be peace here in  this area, even though that might lead to the conclusion that we have  to leave.

But nobody wants to have a conflict ongoing only to have a mission  there. So let's see if this all will have success. I hope so.

Thank you Mr. Ritter for your time.

EU Mission in Armenia (EUMA) was launched by the decision of EU  Foreign Affairs Council on 20 February 2023, when it also started its  operational activities. EUMA is tasked with observing and reporting  on the situation on the ground, contributing to human security in  conflict-affected areas and supporting the confidence building  between Armenia and Azerbaijan, where possible. EUMA is an essential  component of the EU's efforts in supporting peace and stability in  the region.

The EU established the Mission in response to an official request by  the Armenian authorities to deploy a full-fledged EU civilian mission  on the ground. This deployment follows the successful experience of  the EU Monitoring Capacity (EUMCAP) deployed previously on the  Armenian side of the Armenia- Azerbaijan border between 20 October  2022 and 19 December 2022.

The Mission has a two-year mandate and will involve up to 209  personnel including 165 international and 44 local staff. EUMA  observers and civilian experts come from 23 EU Member States and the  Third Contributing State Canada.

EUMA is deployed on the Armenian side of the international border  with Azerbaijan. EUMA Headquarters is located in Yeghegnadzor, with  six Forward Operating Bases in Yeghegnadzor, Jermuk, Martuni, Kapan,  Goris and Ijevan. The Mission also has a liaison office in Yerevan.  EUMA is exclusively deployed and operating within the internationally  recognised territory of Armenia.

EUMA coordinates all its activities with the Armenian authorities. It  also informs the Azerbaijani side of relevant developments as  appropriate.