The head of the EU monitoring mission in Armenia, Markus Ritter, who is completing his tenure in the country, said there are currently no discussions about extending the mission beyond the expiration of its mandate.
“At this point, there are no discussions about continuing the mission after the end of the mandate,” he said, according to Panorama.am .
He noted that the Armenian government has expressed a desire for the mission to remain until a peace agreement is signed and ratified.
Ritter recalled that the mission’s mandate expires in February 2027 and that no changes have been made to it so far. After that, he said, the Armenian government will discuss the mission’s future activities with the European Union.
“The government has very openly asked us to continue our patrols along the border and our visits to border villages. That is exactly what we will do until the peace agreement is signed and approved by both sides,” Ritter said.
According to him, the mission has conducted 7,780 patrols along Armenia’s entire border from north to south.
“I can say that since August we have not recorded any incidents and the situation has been much calmer. We also visit border residents, schools and local authorities to show that they are not alone. Based on our observations and conversations with people, we have concluded that there is a positive atmosphere and we do not currently see a risk of tension. But when we arrived three years ago, there was significant tension at the border, with shootings and killed or wounded servicemen. It was quite tense at that time,” the mission chief said.
Earlier, Armenia’s Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan stated that Armenia wants the EU civilian mission to continue its activities in the country.
The EU monitoring mission was deployed in Armenia in October 2022. On December 11, 2023, EU foreign ministers decided to increase the mission’s staff by 50 percent, from 138 to 209 personnel.
At the end of January, the EU Council decided to extend the mandate of the European Union Mission in Armenia for another two years, until February 19, 2027.
