The head of the European Union’s monitoring mission on Armenia’s border with Azerbaijan, Markus Ritter, on Friday backed Yerevan’s proposal to jointly investigate with Baku ceasefire violations reported from there.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian floated the idea on June 15 following a series of statements by the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry that accused Armenian forces of opening fire at its troops at various sections of the border. The Armenian side categorically denied the claims.
Pashinian’s office said on June 22 that it has communicated to Baku through unnamed “diplomatic channels” a proposal to create a “bilateral mechanism for investigation” of such claims. The EU’s special envoy for the South Caucasus, Toivo Klaar, welcomed the proposal.
Ritter also hailed it when he spoke during a security conference in Yerevan. What is more, he said his monitoring mission is ready to participate in the proposed joint investigations.
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“But it is up to the two conflicting sides to decide whether the EU could have a role there,” added Ritter. “This is a political decision that needs to be made in Yerevan and Baku. Of course, it would be very good to involve the EU monitoring mission.”
Azerbaijan has still not responded to the Armenian proposal. For its part, Yerevan has publicized no details of the mechanism suggested by it.
The Azerbaijani government has previously rejected repeated Armenian calls for a mutual withdrawal of the two countries’ troops from their long and volatile border. Observers believe that it is unlikely to accept the proposed joint inquiries either and will keep up instead pressure on Yerevan in ongoing talks on an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty.
Azerbaijan as well as Russia have repeatedly criticized the EU mission over the past year. Despite the criticism, the 27-nation bloc decided late last year to deploy more observers in Armenia.
