Nagorno-Karabakh

Russia on Thursday (26 January) accused the EU of seeking to fuel “geopolitical confrontation” by sending a civilian mission to monitor Armenia’s volatile border with Azerbaijan.

The Council today agreed to establish a civilian European Union Mission in Armenia (EUMA) under the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). The objective of the Mission is to contribute to stability in the border areas of Armenia, building confidence on the ground, and ensuring an environment conducive to normalisation efforts between Armenia and Azerbaijan supported by the EU. … EUMA will have an initial mandate of two years and its Operational Headquarters will be in Armenia.

Russia has blamed Armenia for a breakdown in peace talks with Azerbaijan over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region in the latest sign of friction between Moscow and Yerevan over the conflict.

Armenia will not host Russian-led military exercises this year, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Tuesday, signaling growing frustration with Moscow.

Efforts to get the United Nations Security Council to issue a joint statement on the ongoing de facto blockade of the Armenian population of Karabakh have reportedly failed, setting off a chain of claims and counterclaims about who was responsible.

Despite a “glimmer of hope” regarding diplomatic efforts by Armenia and Azerbaijan towards a resolution of their ongoing dispute, a current escalation of tension and incidents threatens to derail fragile progress and unleash a dangerous resumption of violence, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council today.

Today the EU Monitoring Capacity in Armenia (EUMCAP), launched in October, completes its mandate. Based on the agreement between the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, European Council and France, the EUMCAP was deployed on 20 October along the Armenian side of the international border with Azerbaijan with the objective of monitoring, analysing and reporting on the situation on the ground.

Armenia on Wednesday accused arch-foe Azerbaijan of being responsible for a humanitarian crisis in the Nagorno-Karabakh region after Azerbaijani activists blocked the only road connecting the separatist territory with Armenia.

Increasingly fiery rhetoric and daily reports of clashes along the tense line of contact around Nagorno-Karabakh have sparked fears of a new conflict over the only remaining road link connecting the breakaway region to the outside world.

Armenia and Azerbaijan on Monday traded accusations of provoking a shootout along their troubled border, just hours before the arch-foes were to hold US-mediated peace talks.