News - Border with Azerbaijan is calm, there is no tension, head of EU monitoring mission in Armenia says in Yeghegnadzor

Establishing sustainable peace in the South Caucasus is one of the main goals of the European Union (EU). Ambassador Vassilis Maragos, Head of the EU Delegation in Armenia, stated this at Wednesday’s opening ceremony for the new headquarters, in Yeghegnadzor city, of the European Union civilian monitoring mission in Armenia (EUMA). On the margins of the European Political Community Summit held in Granada, Spain in early October, the EU again condemned Azerbaijan's military action against the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh, and emphasized the need to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Armenia and Azerbaijan, the EU remains committed to these efforts, and the humanitarian needs of the more than 100,000 Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh who have found refuge in Armenia are at their immediate focus, Maragos said. The ambassador added that the EU and Armenia are determined to strengthen their ties by working to unlock the full potential of their Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement, and the EU Economic and Investment Plan. Speaking to reporters after the aforesaid opening ceremony, EUMA head Markus Ritter noted that at the moment there are representatives of 23 EU member states in their mission, but there is a possibility that all 27 members will have representatives. He noted that Canada has joined the EUMA and that the latter’s expansion will be discussed in Brussels by the end of the year. And when asked what the current situation is at Armenia’s border with Azerbaijan, Ritter responded that the situation there is calm and there is no tension at the moment.