French Foreign Affairs Minister Says EU Observer Mission's Mandate in Armenia Must be Extended
French Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna, during a Q&A debate today in the French National Assembly, said the EU observation mission’s mandate in Armenia needs to be extended.
The EU, in October, dispatched a forty-member civilian border monitoring mission to Armenia for a maximum period of two months.
"Tension between the two countries has not eased, both on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and in Nagorno-Karabakh. And it shows the lack of trust and security guarantees that Russia claimed to provide in this region. That is a fact. In this context, France and the EU are eager to help Armenia," Colonna said today.
The EU, at the time, declared the mission in Armenia will carry out the following key tasks. 1) to support the building of trust between Armenia and Azerbaijan, observing the commitment of both sides to the maintenance of the ceasefire. 2) The EU group will monitor the situation in the border areas between Armenia and Azerbaijan through regular and situational reports regarding military positions and ceasefire developments on the ground. This will make it possible for the EU to provide more objective support to the work of the border commissions of both sides.
"The mission should remain as long as necessary. This is our belief and the desire of Armenians," Colonna said.
There is no similar mission on the Azerbaijani side of the border.
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