EU appoints new monitoring mission head in Armenia![]() February 18, 2026 - 12:59 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The Council of the European Union has appointed Satu Koivu as Head of the European Union Monitoring Mission in Armenia. She will assume her duties on February 20, 2026, succeeding Markus Ritter. Satu Koivu is a Finnish senior police officer with more than 35 years of national and international professional experience. Prior to her appointment, she served as Head of Human Resources at Finland’s National Police Board, 1lurer.am reports. The decision on her appointment was adopted by the EU Political and Security Committee on February 17, 2026. The mission’s mandate includes monitoring and reporting on the situation on the ground along the Armenian side of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border. The mandate runs until February 19, 2027. The mission consists of more than 200 international and local staff members. Observers and civilian experts represent 25 EU member states and one third contributing country, Canada. Grigoryan added that the situation around the world and particularly in the region is very difficult. The Armenian Defense Ministry has denied Azerbaijan's accusations of violating the ceasefire. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan took to social media to thank his Lithuanian counterpart for the contribution. President of the Armenian parliament Alen Simonyan met with the Speaker of the Azerbaijani Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova. Partner news |