Eight French gendarmes will be among the members of a new EU mission to be sent to Armenia on February 20, French MEP and former French Minister for European Affairs Nathalie Loiseau said in an interview with Civilnet.

“I strongly support the new EU mission with a broader scope and scale,” she noted.

"The mission will start on February 20, and I will be in Armenia on that day. I welcome Armenia's support and cooperation with the mission. The mission will be our eyes and ears on the ground, and its presence should deter new attacks.”

Loiseau expressed hope that Azerbaijan will cooperate with the mission in good faith.

Foreign ministers from the 27 EU member countries met in Luxembourg in October and agreed a civil mission to address problem on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. They decided to send up to 40 EU experts on the Armenian side of the border to monitor, analyze and report the situation in the region. The mission was deployed on October 20 and finished its work on December 19. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in late December that that the European Union plans to deploy a long-term mission to Armenia to promote lasting peace in the South Caucasus.