Armenia/Azerbaijan - Q&A - Extract from the daily press briefing (17 March 2023)

Q: Prime minister Nikol Pashinyan would like for the U.N. to provide peacekeepers to monitor the border with Azerbaijan and replace the ineffective Russian soldiers. Is France in favor of this proposal?

A: As Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna indicated once again before the National Assembly on March 14, together with the EU and the United States, we are in constant contact with both Armenia and Azerbaijan in an effort to reach a peace agreement.

It is in this spirit that the civilian European Union Mission in Armenia (EUMA) was deployed to Armenia along the border with Azerbaijan for two years on February 20. EUMA aims to help lower the number of incidents in conflict affected areas and in Armenia’s border regions in addition to building confidence and human security in the region, thereby promoting the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan on the ground. EUMA builds on the quadrilateral meeting that took place in Prague on October 6, which was organized at the invitation of the President of the French Republic. This meeting recognized the establishment of an initial, temporary, 2-month-long EU mission and predated the EU monitoring mission that is currently deployed.

At France’s initiative, the UN Security Council met several times in September 2022, following clashes along the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Beginning on December 12, France also took action to put an end to the blockade of the Lachin Corridor by asking for two new Security Council meetings to be held and by suggesting that its members negotiate a press statement.

We will continue to work to support compliance with the ceasefire, dialogue and continued negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.