BRUSSELS. - The new EU Special Representative for South Caucasus will have extended mandate.

According to the report on the EU website, in order to achieve the political objectives of the Union, the mandate includes:

Development of contacts with governments, parliaments, other key political actors, representatives of the judiciary and civil society in the region, promoting cooperation on issues of common interest, such as security threats, terrorism, drug trafficking and organized crime;

Promotion of peaceful conflict resolution in accordance with the principles of international law;

Facilitation of settlement realization, in close cooperation with the UN, OSCE and the Minsk Group.

Note that Philippe Lefort was recently appointed new EU Special Representative.

Lefort is a French diplomat with over 20 years of experience. He devoted much of his career to the Caucasus and Russia, served as French ambassador to Georgia (2004-2007), he was also the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of France in Russia.