Russia Claims Anti-Russian, Anti-Azerbaijani, and Anti-Iranian Mission in Armenia

Russia has repeatedly expressed its negative stance towards the so-called EU observer mission in Armenia, commenting on its confrontational nature. This was stated by Maria Zakharova, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, in response to a question from an Azerbaijani journalist regarding Russia's assessment of the EU's proposal to extend the EU observer mission's activities at the Armenia-Azerbaijan border for two additional years.

"The anti-Azerbaijani, anti-Russian, and anti-Iranian objectives of this mission are evident. Moreover, NATO countries are also joining in on this. It is clear that this is a geopolitical project being used to strengthen the collective West's presence in the region. Its aims are obvious to us: destabilization of the situation and its use against the peoples of the South Caucasus region," she replied.

Zakharova noted that aside from the EU observer mission, there should be no expectations other than destabilization of the military-political situation and turning the South Caucasus region into a theatre of geopolitical competition. According to her, the EU mission is a foreign body for the South Caucasus, and all urgent issues facing the region need to be resolved through collective efforts without outside interference.

The Russian diplomat emphasized that the decision to deploy the EU mission was made without coordination with Azerbaijan, questioning, "Why is the opinion of a regional player, who is not an external observer and is interested in stability, not taken into account?" She added that the EU is using Armenia as a tool to exert influence and is carrying out espionage activities in the region under the guise of the observation mission.