European Union member states has extended EU monitoring mission along Armenia’s international border with Azerbaijan for next two years despite official Baku’s demand for its immediate withdrawal.
The proposal to extend the mission was recently made by the EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas and approved on Wednesday, according to Armenian press.
RFE/RL Europe Editor Rikard Jozwiak reported that the Brussels-based ambassadors of the 27 EU nations, who endorsed Kallas’s proposal, also decided to keep the mission’s mandate and size unchanged.
According to the mission's representatives in Armenia, this decision is expected to receive formal approval from the EU member states' foreign ministers in the near future.
Armenia’s Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan recently stated that Armenia will need the EU Mission in his country as long as delimitation of the border with Azerbaijan is going on.
At the same time, Moscow accused the EU monitors of spying under the auspices of the observation mission and destabilizing the situation in the region.
The EU observer mission in Armenia is spying on Russia, Iran and Azerbaijan, further heightening tensions in the region, stated Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova adding “this has been factually confirmed."
Baku also insists on withdrawal of EU observers and called the deployment of monitors from third countries as “a factor of concern."
"The mission was supposed to be short-term, but now it has turned into a permanent one, with extended mandate and composition. We see no need in involvement of any third party in the delimitation process between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which is carried out in a peaceful and mutually agreed condition. We don’t consider EU mission as contributor to the peace consolidation in the region, it is factor of concern” – said Hikmet Hajiyev, Assistant to the President Ilham Aliyev.
Read next
15:00
Azerbaijan - USA
A roundtable discussion on Azerbaijan’s demining initiatives was held at the Hudson Institute in Washington, organized by the Azerbaijani Embassy. Representatives from ANAMA and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs provided insights into ongoing operations and challenges related to landmine clearance.
14:17
Azerbaijan and Germany
Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and Frank-Walter Steinmeier, President of the Federal Republic of Germany, made press statements and responded to journalists’ questions.
The President of Azerbaijan made the statement first.
11:26
Frank-Walter Steinmeier
On April 2, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, President of the Federal Republic of Germany, accompanied by his wife Elke Büdenbender, visited the Alley of Martyrs in Baku to honor the Azerbaijani heroes who sacrificed their lives for the country’s independence and territorial integrity.
10:37
Germany - Azerbaijan
An official welcome ceremony was held in Azerbaijan on April 2 for German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, where he was greeted with a guard of honor and national anthems as part of his diplomatic visit.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment