Dhe EU foreign ministers have agreed on a new mission to Armenia to contribute to stability on the border with Azerbaijan and thus create the conditions for a normalization of relations between the two countries. To this end, the EU intends to send around a hundred observers to patrol the Armenian side of the border. The civilian deployment as part of the common security and defense policy is initially planned for two years, as the Council announced. Foreign Affairs Representative Josep Borrell spoke of a “new phase in EU engagement in the South Caucasus”.
Previously, the member states had set up a test mission limited to two months. It was based on an understanding between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and carried out 176 patrols on the two countries’ borders in two months.
Although there were no battles during this period, there was a temporary blockade of the Lakhin Corridor, the only road connecting the Nagorno Karabakh region claimed by both countries with Armenia. After the end of the test phase on December 19, Yerevan asked the EU to deploy a permanent mission. Azerbaijan’s consent is not required for this, but the observers may only stay on Armenian territory. The EU wants to expand its influence and push Russia out of the region.