The Foreign Affairs Council of the EU defined the framework for the EU’s relations with the South Caucasus for the near future.

“The Council statement describes a new quality of relations between the EU and Armenia, including Visa Facilitation and the DCFTA, but also the conditions for further assistance and integration. But most strikingly, the EU acknowledges that EU officials should travel freely to and engage with Nagorno-Karabakh, disregarding infamous pressures from Azerbaijan.

With this new clear mandate of the Council, we now expect that Special Representative Philippe Lefort, Ambassador Traian Hristea and other EU officials will visit Nagorno-Karabakh and retain first-hand information about the situation on the ground, but also help build up strong confidence building measures. The EU has the capacity and the neutrality required for this”, commented Dr Michael Kambeck, Secretary General of European Friends of Armenia