Baku demands conclusion of EU mission in Armenia

PanARMENIAN.Net - The EU mission's activities in Armenia must be completed, said Azerbaijani Presidential Aide Hikmet Hajiyev, Minval.az reports.

According to him, Baku does not see the need for the presence of any European Union mission on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

"The activities of this mission must be completed. The deployment of the mission was agreed upon in Prague with the participation of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, French President Emmanuel Macron, as well as Charles Michel and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. This mission was initially planned to be short-term. However, as we see, it is turning into a permanent mission, its composition and geographical mandate are expanding,” he said.

"We do not see the need for a third party to participate in the delimitation process, which is carried out in conditions of mutual understanding and peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan. We also do not consider the EU mission a factor in strengthening peace in the region. On the contrary, its presence is a cause for concern."

In February 2023, the European Union launched a civilian mission in Armenia, which is tasked to promote settlement of the situation with Azerbaijan. The mission’s two-year mandate envisages patrolling and reporting about the situation to Brussels to raise its awareness of the situation on the ground. According to experts in Brussels, the mission is ultimately geared to enhance the European Union’s influence in the South Caucasus amid its confrontation with Russia.