BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 24. Chairman of the Temporary Commission of the Azerbaijani Parliament on Countering Foreign Interference and Hybrid Threats Ramid Namazov has announced the results of the survey entitled "EUMA's activities in the region, its possible contribution to peace and confidence-building", Trend reports.
Speaking during the presentation of a special investigation titled “Hybrid Offensive Under the Name of ‘Peace Mission’ for Stability in the South Caucasus”, Namazov noted that the Center for Social Research addressed 36 open-ended questions primarily via the LinkedIn, Facebook, and X social media platforms to individuals currently serving or formerly involved in the European Union Mission in Armenia (EUMA).
"It must be noted with regret that 80 percent of respondents did not answer the questions; in some cases, they displayed intolerance or recommended contacting the EUMA Press and Public Relations Department. At the same time, based on the responses received, although not fully comprehensive, a number of interesting points regarding the mission and its activities have come to light. The responses revealed that although EUMA is a civilian mission, it largely comprises former military personnel, law enforcement officers, and military analysts," the MP noted.
According to him, in order to start working in the mission, it is primarily necessary to have specific professional experience in certain fields and to possess a Personal Security Clearance; knowledge of foreign languages, including Russian and Armenian, is considered an advantage.
"It hasn't been denied that EUMA is not engaged in intelligence, although the presence of certain intelligence elements has been acknowledged. It has been mentioned that some staff members have arrived with their families and that the working conditions provided are well organized.
At the same time, it is noted that the living conditions, infrastructure, and healthcare system in Armenia are not very satisfactory. The attitude of the local population toward EUMA personnel is said to be generally normal, although there have been cases of occasional dissatisfaction.
Although misunderstandings or conflicts among EUMA personnel are rare, it is noted that in some cases the issues were at least partially resolved thanks to the swift intervention of leadership. There has also been a case in which a person was forced to leave the mission before the end of their term. The reason for this has not been stated," Namazov explained.
He pointed out that the leading countries of Europe are the main decision-makers within the mission, and their personnel constitute the majority.
"Although the question regarding whether the mission is against Azerbaijan and preparing Armenia for a new war was unequivocally answered in the negative, the question about whether it is against Iran or Russia was left unaddressed.
Regarding the future of the mission, it was stated that its presence is important and that there is a necessity to increase its personnel several times over. Depending on the situation and if necessary, the possibility of the mission continuing in the future as a civil-military mission was also among the answers.
As for the mission’s contribution to the normalization of Armenia-Azerbaijan relations, its operation solely on the Armenian side has been evaluated as a hindrance to its full effectiveness. Respondents answered positively when asked whether they were informed about the past conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Regarding their attitude toward the Mission from the Azerbaijani side, they said they had only heard about it in the media, had never visited Azerbaijan before, but would be willing to do so if such an opportunity arose in the future. They did not answer the question of how they would react if sanctions were imposed against them by Azerbaijan.
It was also stated that they were unaware of the issue that EUMA’s activities in Azerbaijan could constitute a criminal offense and be punishable by imprisonment from ten to fifteen years," Namazov added.
Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel