BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 26. Yerevan, without bringing to its logical conclusion the work on sending the CSTO [Collective Security Organization] mission [to border with Azerbaijan], preferred to make a choice in favor of the EU, the Russian Foreign Ministry said, Trend reports via TASS.
"We do not see any ‘added value’ from the supervision of the ‘experts’ of the EU over the events in the area of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border," said the ministry.
The ministry said that if Brussels was sincerely interested in peace in the South Caucasus, it would have agreed with Azerbaijan on the conditions for the work of EU mission.
“Appearance in the border areas of Armenia of representatives of the European Union, which was reborn as an appendage of the US and NATO and pursues a confrontational policy in the CIS region, can only bring geopolitical confrontation to the region and exacerbate existing contradictions," the ministry also said.
The attempts of the EU to gain a foothold in Armenia at any cost, to press the mediation efforts of Russia can damage the fundamental interests of Armenians and Azerbaijanis in their aspirations to return to the peaceful development of the region, added the ministry.
The EU has decided to establish a civilian EU Mission in Armenia (EUMA) under the Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP) on the Azerbaijan-Armenia border on January 23. The mission's initial mandate will last for two years, and its operational headquarters will be located in Armenia.
On October 17, 2022, the EU Council of Foreign Ministers at its meeting decided to deploy nearly 40 EU observers in Armenia, alongside the border with Azerbaijan, to monitor, analyze, and report on the situation in the South Caucasus. The EU Monitoring Capacity in Armenia (EUMCAP) completed its activities, as agreed in Prague, on December 19, 2022.
The decision stated that the objective of the Mission is to promote stability in the border areas of Armenia, build confidence on the ground, and ensure an environment conducive to EU-backed normalization efforts between Armenia and Azerbaijan.