Russia fears that EU mission in Armenia will get permanent status

The Russian side is concerned that the EU mission in Armenia may get a permanent status. This was stated by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin.

In March, the Armenian Parliament ratified an agreement with the European Union on the status of the EU mission on the border with Azerbaijan. The agreement provides the observers with immunity and benefits, including immunity from detention and arrest.

Galuzin also noted the appearance of Canadian representatives in the EU mission in April this year, which, in his opinion, indicates NATO's penetration into the South Caucasus. The Russian side expresses concerns that the EU mission's activities are aimed at gathering intelligence on Russian facilities and Armenia's neighboring states of Iran and Turkey.

"We negatively assess the activities of the EU mission in Armenia, as we have repeatedly said. The EU's objective is obvious and is to try to gain a foothold in the region to the detriment of the interests of the traditional partners and neighbors of the South Caucasus states - Russia, Iran and Turkey," Galuzin believes.

Russia has repeatedly expressed its negative attitude towards the EU mission in Armenia, stressing that it has not prevented the aggravation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

Russia is convinced that sustainable peace in the South Caucasus can be achieved only through the implementation of the trilateral agreements reached by the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia in 2020-2022.

Note that the EU long-term mission was deployed to Armenia from 20 February 2023 for a period of 2 years and initially consisted of 100 persons. In December 2023, the EU announced the expansion of the mission to 209 persons.