12:52,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 28, ARMENPRESS. The EU civilian mission in Armenia is in itself a restraining mechanism against Azerbaijan, Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan said.

“If we were to go to extremes while looking at it, of course the attacking side will attack if it has decided to do so and is assessing its possibilities to be sufficient. But the decision [to deploy EU mission] in itself is a restraining mechanism, not to mention the fact that they are already here. But the decision in itself is already a political assessment, a record,” Simonyan said when asked at a press briefing whether the EU mission will suppress any aggressive actions by Azerbaijan.

Speaker Simonyan added that before the 2020 war, Azerbaijan passed a long path, it made preparations in the media sector, obtained four resolutions at the UN in order to try and give some substantiation to its actions in terms of international law. “Now such substantiation neither exists nor can exist. The opposite is happening, today a lot more is being talked about Nagorno Karabakh, rights, about the Azerbaijanis who invaded sovereign territory of Armenia. And I am convinced that we are headed in the right direction,” Simonyan said.

On 20 February 2023, the European Union launched the EU civilian mission in Armenia (EU Mission in Armenia/EUMA) under the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP).

The EUMA was formally established by a Council Decision on 23 January 2023. Through its deployment on the Armenian side of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, it aims to contribute to stability in the border areas of Armenia, build confidence and human security in conflict affected areas, and ensure an environment conducive to the normalisation efforts between Armenia and Azerbaijan supported by the EU.

The exclusively civilian staff of the EUMA will number approximately 100 in total, including around 50 unarmed observers.

The mission’s operational headquarters will be in Yeghegnadzor, in the Vayots Dzor province of Armenia. EEAS Managing Director of the Civilian Planning and Conduct Capability (CPCC), Stefano Tomat, will serve as the Civilian Operation Commander, while Markus Ritter will serve as the Head of Mission.