In the border conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the EU foreign ministers have decided on an observer mission.
Up to 40 European experts are to be deployed to the Armenian border area by the end of the month to monitor and analyze the unstable situation in the region.
The aim is to build trust, said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell at the foreign ministers' meeting in Luxembourg.
The assignment is initially limited to two months.
It became possible after Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan reached an agreement mediated by Brussels.
Thomas Gutschker
Political correspondent for the European Union, NATO and the Benelux countries based in Brussels.
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In July 2020, heavy fighting broke out between the two states over the Nagorno-Karabakh region they claimed, which ended four months later with Azerbaijan gaining significant ground.
Hostilities resumed along the border in mid-September, killing nearly 300 people.
Fighting stopped only after American pressure.
In order to be able to react quickly, the observers are temporarily withdrawn from Georgia.
Borrell emphasized the EU's commitment to a "sustainable peace in the South Caucasus".
Both sides regard Brussels as an "honest broker", explained an EU official.
Russia, which supports Armenia militarily, suffered an "enormous loss of confidence" with its attack on Ukraine.
In addition, unlike Moscow, Europe could offer further rapprochement with the EU.
Armenia and Azerbaijan are part of the Eastern Partnership, but unlike Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, they do not yet have association agreements, let alone a prospect of membership.