TASS reports that on January 23 EU member state foreign ministers will decide whether to dispatch a new monitoring mission to Armenia tasked with promoting stability in the region.

The Russian news agency writes a top EU representative, who it fails to name, relayed the news to reporters in Brussels. TASS quotes the diplomat as saying   that the EU is concerned about recent developments along the Lachin Corridor and is taking steps to reopen the roadway linking Artsakh with Armenia and the outside world.

In October 2022, EU foreign ministers agreed on the establishment of the first civilian mission to resolve problems on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. They sent up to 40 EU experts to the Armenian side of the border with Azerbaijan to monitor, analyze and report on the situation in the region. The work of the first mission lasted two months. 

In October 2022, EU foreign ministers agreed to dispatch a civilian monitoring to the Armenian side of the border with Azerbaijan. The mission ended its work on December 20.

Marking the end of the mission’s work, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell announced the deployment of a transitional planning assistance team in Armenia “that will prepare the ground for a possible longer term EU mission in Armenia, with the ultimate goal of contributing to sustainable peace in the region.”

Borrell, in an EU press release, said the deployment of forty European monitoring experts in October had proved to be effective and contributed to building confidence in an unstable situation.

Borrell says the new mission, if approved, will be a civilian CSDP mission.

CSDP (Common Security and Defence Policy) is an EU structure that enables the Union to take a leading role in peace-keeping operations, conflict prevention and in the strengthening of international security.

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