EU Mission on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border

There will be a European Union civilian mission in the border area between Armenia and Azerbaijan. This is stated in a joint statement that was circulated after negotiations between the two countries, led by French President Macron and President Michel of the European Council of Heads of Government, according to the AFP news agency.

The mission will begin this month and will last a maximum of two months. It is not known how many people are participating. The mission is intended to help maintain peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan by mediating in the definition of borders.

Fighting between the two countries killed hundreds of people last month, until a US-brokered ceasefire took effect. Last night, Armenian Prime Minister Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Aliyev negotiated the issue in Prague. Conversations took place in the shade of the first meeting of the European Political Communityalso a Macron initiative.

According to the joint statement, the two countries confirmed during the talks that they respect each other’s borders, as endorsed in the Alma Ata Declaration in 1991, which followed the breakup of the Soviet Union. Since then, however, the countries have repeatedly fought over territory: not just for borders between them, but also for the status of the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which lies within Azerbaijan but is claimed by both countries. . The fighting for this region claimed the lives of some 6,500 people in 2020, then ended after the mediation of Russia.