Moscow accuses Brussels of trying to oust Russia from South Caucasus

ArmInfo. The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement in connection with the decision of the EU Council to establish a civilian monitoring mission of the European  Union in the border regions of Armenia.

The statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry emphasizes that on  January 23, the EU Council decided to establish a new civil mission  of the European Union in Armenia for a period of two years.

"The specific parameters of the EU presence will be determined in the  near future. But it is already obvious that it will be more ambitious  than the EU monitoring mechanism that operated in Armenia from  October to December last year.

The principled position of Russia regarding the consolidation of the  extra-regional factor in the Transcaucasus has not changed. We do not  see any "added value" from the supervision of the EU "experts" over  the developments in the area of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. If  Brussels was sincerely interested in peace in the Transcaucasus, they  would have agreed on the terms of their mission's work with  Azerbaijan," the official Moscow statement reads.

At the same time, the ministry emphasized that "the deployment of  representatives of the European Union in the border regions of  Armenia, which has turned into "an annex" of the USA and NATO and is  pursuing a policy of confrontation in the CIS, may only lead to  geopolitical confrontation to the region and exacerbate existing  contradictions". 

"The declared civilian nature of the EU mission should not be  misleading - it is being formed within the framework of the EU Common  Security and Defense Policy with all the ensuing consequences.

The European Union's attempts to gain a foothold in Armenia at any  cost to push back Russia's mediation efforts may harm the fundamental  interests of Armenians and Azerbaijanis in their efforts to return to  the peaceful development of the region. We are convinced that the key  factor for stability and security in the region for the foreseeable  future remains the Russian peacekeeping contingent deployed on the  basis of the statement of the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and  Armenia dated November 9, 2020, as well as the Russian border guards  serving on the Armenian borders. They will act depending on the  behavior of the EU observers, taking into account the development of  the situation "on the ground", the Russian Foreign Ministry noted.   "We note that Yerevan, without bringing the work in the direction of  the CSTO mission to its logical conclusion, preferred to make a  choice in favor of the EU. If Armenian allies continue to be  interested in using CSTO's potential, the mission can be quickly  deployed in Armenia.  As before, we believe that the most stable and  long-term basis for the Armenian-Azerbaijani normalization and, in  general, improvement of the situation in the region is the strict and  consistent implementation of the tripartite agreements of the leaders  of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia dated November 9, 2020, January 11,  November 26, 2021 and October 31, 2022, incl. on unblocking all  transport and economic ties, delimitation and demarcation of the  Armenian-Azerbaijani border, agreeing on the parameters of a peace  treaty between Azerbaijan and Armenia, developing trilateral contacts  between the public, expert circles and parliamentarians. The Russian  Federation is ready to do is best to facilitate this process," the  Russian Foreign Ministry concluded.

As ArmInfo previously reported, on January 23, the EU Council  approved the dispatch of an EU civilian mission to Armenia for a  period of two years. The operational headquarters will be deployed in  Armenia.  The Civil Mission Commander will be Stefano Tomat ,  Managing Director of the EEAS Civilian Planning and Conduct  Capability (CPCC) Division. In the near future, a Head of Mission  will be appointed to lead operations on the ground. The goal is to  help stabilize the situation on the ground. It is expected to send up  to 100 specialists. The sending of specialists from third countries  that are not EU members is not excluded.