Azerbaijani expert calls for absence of third-party forces in border zone with Armenia

Chairman of the Board of the Azerbaijani Center of Analysis of International Relations Farid Shafiyev has said that recent developments indicate that the EU mission in Armenia will last for 5 to 10 years. 

While discussing the EU mission along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, Shafiyev noted during a year-end press conference that with Canada's recent participation, the mission has evolved into the "European Union Plus" format, Caliber.Az reports via local media.

"There should be no third-party forces in the border zone. Currently, the mission along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border has transitioned to the 'European Union Plus' format. Recent developments have shown that the EU mission in Armenia will continue for 5 to 10 years. Armenia is interested in extending this mission. If Yerevan maintains its current stance, the signing of a peace treaty by 2025 seems unreal," he added.

On October 7, 2022, the Council of Europe decided to send up to 40 EU experts along the Armenian side of the conditional border with Azerbaijan “with the objective of monitoring, analysing and reporting on the situation in the region.”

The mission was set for two months, and on December 19, the information went viral that the group's activities had concluded. In January 2023, according to information from the European Council website, an agreement was reached to send a new civilian monitoring mission to Armenia aimed at “building confidence on the ground, and ensuring an environment conducive to normalisation efforts between Armenia and Azerbaijan supported by the EU.”

The mission was agreed “in response to Armenia’s request,” and the duration of patrolling the territory along the internationally recognized border of Armenia was suddenly extended to two years. The number of personnel in the group increased to over 200.

By Naila Huseynova