Russian Foreign Ministry: EU mission in Armenia aims to squeeze Russia out of the region

Baku/20.02.23/Turan: Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova criticized the launch of the EU civilian monitoring mission on the Armenian border on February 20.

“By emphasizing the exclusively civilian nature of the new mission, the representatives of the European Union are disingenuous. It unfolds within the meaning of the EU Common Security and Defense Policy. Therefore, it should be treated accordingly.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time we have recorded the desire of the European Union and the West as a whole to gain a foothold in our allied Armenia by any means.

We see in these attempts an exclusively geopolitical background, far from the interests of a real normalization of relations in the Transcaucasus. Everything is being done to squeeze Russia out of the region and weaken its historical role as the main guarantor of security. The publicly expressed negative assessments of this initiative by Baku are being ignored,” Zakharova said.

“We are convinced that the set of agreements between the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia remains a key factor in stability and security in the region for the foreseeable future. Through their comprehensive implementation, including the unblocking of transport communications, the delimitation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, the establishment of contacts between the public, experts, religious circles, parliamentarians of the two countries, as well as negotiations on the development of a peace treaty, lies the most direct way to improve the situation in the region. The Russian Federation is ready to further contribute to this in every possible way,” she stressed.

* Recall that from today, about 100 European observers will monitor the violation of the ceasefire on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border for two years. -02B-