ArmInfo. The Russian Foreign Ministry sees a trace of NATO in sending an EU observation mission to Armenia
Thus, on January 27, during a briefing, official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, in response to a request to comment on the dispatch of European observers to Armenia, recalled the statement made yesterday by the Russian Foreign Ministry.
In addition, she noted that the deployment of representatives of the European Union in the border regions of Armenia, which has turned into "an affiliate" of NATO and the USA and pursues a policy of confrontation in the CIS, may only bring geopolitical confrontation to the region and exacerbate existing contradictions.
"Actually, under the "name" of the EU, an attempt is made to hide the obvious, real role of NATO in various global affairs. Acting through the EU, the Alliance removes the issue of assigning tasks by the military bloc," she said, recalling the existence of many agreements linking the EU and NATO.
At the same time, she expressed her conviction that the EU as a political instrument has been supplanted, and there is no place for politics in the form of diplomacy in organization, but only for politics in the form of military-political efforts. "Efforts with a minus sign in this case," she added.
It should be noted that on the eve of the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a sharp statement on the fact of sending a long-term EU observation mission to Armenia. "If Brussels were sincerely interested in peace in Transcaucasia, they would agree with Azerbaijan on the terms of their mission's work," official Moscow said in a statement.
"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.