The EU’s special envoy for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia, Toivo Klaar, said on Monday 10 October that the EU could do more to make the South Caucasus more secure and more prosperous.
Tensions are running high between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
“There are many unanswered questions that need to be answered. It is not easy”, admitted Mr Klaar at a hearing before the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Security and Defence (SEDE). He is of the opinion that a positive momentum should be created by encouraging both sides to take specific actions on the agreements reached in recent months.
According to the special envoy, the EU has a role to play. “As the EU, we have to remain engaged and be even more engaged, because there are not many international actors these days who can do what we can do as the EU; we have to redouble our efforts to make the South Caucasus a peaceful and prosperous place”, he explained. According to Mr Klaar, multi-level engagement can build on the EU’s experience of cooperating with third countries over the past decade, but also with France, a member of the Minsk Group.
Special Envoy Klaar also emphasised the need to cooperate with international partners, such as the United States. Additionally, he said that he had discussed the situation with the Russians, and that there were channels of communication, but that because of the war in Ukraine it was very difficult to work with Russia.
Mr Klaar also felt that having the full support of the European Parliament would be extremely important in the EU’s peace consolidation role. Andrey Kovachev (EPP, Bulgarian) said that a delegation of MEPs could visit Armenia in the next few days.
Regarding the EU civilian mission announced at the quadrilateral meeting (see EUROPE 13038/3), Mr Klaar did not provide any details, but simply said that it would be discussed on Tuesday at the meeting of EU Member States' ambassadors in the Political and Security Committee. According to an EU diplomat, this mission could be an adaptation of the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM Georgia). (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)