The European Union Mission in Armenia (EUMA) has opened a second operational hub in Armenia's southern Syunik province on Wednesday (2 August).
Speaking at the hub's opening ceremony in Kapan, mission head Marcus Ritter said that the hub will "allow an increase in the mission's presence in Syunik, enabling make observations and regular reporting on the situation."
"I hope that our presence here will contribute to the efforts of the European Union for the peace process, and we will be able to ensure a feeling of security among the population," he added.
He also mentioned that the EUMA plans to have six operational centres in Armenia. Kapan is the fourth, with three others being located in Martuni, Jermuk and Goris. New hubs will be opened in Ijevan and Yegheghnadzor soon.
Syunik Governor Robert Ghukasyan commended the opening of the Kapan hub, saying "the presence of the monitoring mission will have a suppressive effect along the border."
CSTO reaffirms readiness to revisit their own monitoring mission in Armenia
Meanwhile, the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) has reaffirmed its readiness to revisit the deployment of the organisation's own monitoring mission to Armenia.
Mikayel Aghasandyan, the Head of the First Department of the CIS Countries at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told RIA Novosti on Wednesday (2 August), "we are still waiting for a positive response from Yerevan and stand ready to resume substantive work around the proposal to deploy a CSTO monitoring mission in Armenia’s border regions, as well as other joint actions to help our ally."
"The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is one of the most complicated [conflicts], it has deep historical roots," Aghasandyan added.
"Consistent normalisation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani relations based on negotiations, mutual respect between the parties, readiness to compromise, make responsible decisions and implement them is the only path towards sustainable resolution. In this context, I must mention the key mediation role of Russia and personally President Vladimir Putin in this process."