A week after the deployment of the European Union Mission in Armenia (EUMA), a dedicated 100-person strong observation of the country’s border with Azerbaijan, there’s still much that remains unknown about its activities. However, in two pieces published this week by the Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR) and Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso, I’ve tried to summarise what we do know.
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A tale of two meetings: More on Aliyev and Pashinyan at the Munich Security Conference
Actually, not a tale, but rather two articles on last weekend’s meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani delegations, led respectively by Nikol Pashinyan and Ilham Aliyev, and the return to the stage of the two leaders at the annual Munich Security Conference.
European Union Mission in Armenia (EUMA) starts operations on border with Azerbaijan
The 100-strong European Union Mission in Armenia (EUMA) today started its two year mission observing the border with Azerbaijan. The deployment follows the temporary two-month European Union Monitoring Capacity (EUMCAP) that ended its duties on 19 December last year. Last week I completed a 1,200 word article on EUMA that includes comments from Armenian and Azerbaijani analysts as well as those involved in the EU’s recruitment process for the mission.
Aliyev and Pashinyan meet with Blinken, clash on Munich Security Conference panel
Unannounced until the last moment, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday facilitated and mediated a long overdue meeting between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on the sidelines of the annual Munich Security Conference in Germany. With Blinken were Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Karen Donfried and newly appointed Senior Advisor for Caucasus Negotiations, Louis L. Bono.
Armenia-Turkey Border opens for Humanitarian Assistance to Earthquake-Hit Adiyaman
In what could possibly prove to be a milestone in relations between the Republics of Armenia and Turkey, Yerevan today sent five trucks carrying 100 tons of humanitarian assistance to its neighbour following last week’s devastating earthquake. The aid was destined for the southeastern Turkish city of Adiyaman.
At time of writing, the number of fatalities from the tragedy, which reached a magnitude of 7.8, has already surpassed 21,000 with over 80,000 injured. A state of emergency in Turkey has been declared.
Toivo Klaar: Georgia an important bridge between Armenia and Azerbaijan
In an interview with the Georgian Public Broadcaster, the European Union’s Special Representative for the South Caucasus, Toivo Klaar, has stressed the importance of Tbilisi’s role in bridging the divide between its immediate regional neighbours, Armenia and Azerbaijan. This is highly welcomed and not least because some of us have long argued for the emergence of some kind of “Tbilisi Process” given that it would be both logical and practical.
Expectations, Hopes, and Fears accompany new European Union Mission in Armenia
The International Crisis Group (ICG) has published a report on the potential role of the new European Union Mission in Armenia (EUMA) once it is deployed to patrol the country’s sometimes volatile border with Azerbaijan later this month. The mission, a dedicated deployment, is more on par with the European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) in neighbouring Georgia than the temporary and much shorter-term European Union Monitoring Capacity (EUMCAP) that ended on 19 December last year.
European Union Mission in Armenia (EUMA) to contribute to normalising relations with Azerbaijan
Despite Baku’s concerns with this week’s decision to deploy a dedicated two-year European Union Mission in Armenia (EUMA), and with political tensions still heightened over the continuing impasse on the strategic Lachin Corridor, there could be some hope on the not too distant horizon. Possibly.
European Union Establishes Longer-Term Monitoring Mission in Armenia
Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso has today published my piece on the new European Union Mission in Armenia (EUMA), a longer-term monitoring mission that will take over from the European Union Monitoring Capacity (EUMCAP) on the country’s border with Azerbaijan that ended its two-month deployment late last month.
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Armenian, Azerbaijani and Georgian Prime Ministers address Tbilisi Silk Road Forum
In recent days, Georgia once again hosted the Tbilisi Silk Road Forum, an event with an economic focus. What is new this year is that for the first time an Armenian leader spoke at such a high-level event in Tbilisi, and high-level officials from all three South Caucasus countries were also on the same stage.
Brussels Meeting Cancelled as Armenian, Azerbaijani, and Georgian PMs Share the Stage in Tbilisi
Despite hopes that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev would meet in Brussels towards the end of the month, the European Union’s Special Representative for the South Caucasus, Toivo Klaar, yesterday said that it will now not take place. Giving the reason as “time constraints,” he made the announcement while participating remotely in a conference held in Yerevan.
A South Caucasus regional approach has big potential
On 8 October, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev traveled to Tbilisi to meet with his Georgian counterpart, Irakli Garibashvili. The unannounced meeting concerned regional projects such as a new Black Sea port in Anaklia and the Middle Corridor that will stretch from China to Europe via Central Asia and the South Caucasus. Both leaders expressed a desire to bring peace to their shared but troubled region while Aliyev surprised many by offering to “immediately” launch talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Georgia.