25 Feb, 12:22

Armenia ready to sign pact with EU, including sending missions to crisis regions

Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Paruyr Hovhannisyan added that Yerevan is ready to participate in security talks with the EU

YEREVAN, February 25. /TASS/. Armenia is ready to join the EU’s Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP), which allows the deployment of civilian missions in crisis areas, Deputy Foreign Minister Paruyr Hovhannisyan said.

"I would like to note that the issue of security in our partnership with the EU is progressing successfully. Armenia expresses its readiness to join the CSDP pact, and we are close to signing it," he told the 4th meeting of the EU-Armenia Parliamentary Partnership Committee.

He added that Armenia is ready to participate in security talks with the EU.

The Civilian Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP) Agreement was adopted by the EU member states on November 19, 2018. According to the website of the EU diplomatic service, the treaty is intended to strengthen the EU's ability to deploy civilian crisis management missions. The objectives of these missions are to strengthen the police, rule of law and civil administration in unstable regions and conflicts. On January 23, 2023, the EU Council approved the deployment of a new EU civilian mission to Armenia within the framework of the CSDP. The purpose of the mission is to promote stability in the border regions of Armenia, strengthen trust on the ground, and ensure conditions conducive to the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

More than 100 observers from the EU mission have been patrolling the Armenian side of the border with Azerbaijan since February 2023. On December 11 of the same year, the EU’s top foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the number of observers would be increased from 138 to 209. On January 10, chief of the European diplomacy Kaja Kallas proposed extending the deployment of the EU civilian mission in Armenia for another two years.

In February, the Armenian parliament approved in the first reading a draft law to begin the country's accession to the EU. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin said it would be difficult for Armenia to move closer to the EU and at the same time remain a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, noting it will have to decide between the EU and the EAEU.

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