The mandate of the EUSR shall be based on the policy objectives of the Union for the South Caucasus, including the objectives set out in the conclusions of the extraordinary European Council meeting in Brussels on 1 September 2008 and the Council conclusions of 15 September 2008, as well as those of 27 February 2012. Those objectives include:

1. (a)

   in accordance with the existing mechanisms, including the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and its Minsk Group, to prevent conflicts in the region, to contribute to a peaceful settlement of conflicts in the region, including the crisis in Georgia and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, by promoting the return of refugees and internally displaced persons and through other appropriate means, and to support the implementation of such a settlement in accordance with the principles of international law;

2. (b)

   to engage constructively with the main interested actors regarding the region;

3. (c)

   to encourage and to support further cooperation between Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, and, as appropriate, their neighbouring countries;

4. (d)

   to enhance the Union’s effectiveness and visibility in the region.