The official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Maria Zakharova, stated that she sees the presence of the EU citizen mission in Armenia exclusively for geopolitical reasons, and not a real interest in the settlement of relations in the South Caucasus.
"Unfortunately, this is not the first time we have recorded the desire of the European Union and the West in general to gain a foothold in our ally Armenia by any means. We see in these attempts an exclusively geopolitical basis, far from the interests of real normalization of relations in Transcaucasia. Everything is being done to squeeze Russia out of the region and weaken its historical role as the main guarantor of security. Publicly expressed negative assessments of this initiative on the part of Baku are being ignored," Zakharova said, adding that she is convinced that the complex of agreements between the leaders of Russia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, including the peace treaty negotiations, remains the key factor for stability and security in the region in the near term.
100 civilian observers of the European Union arrived in Armenia the day before. It is reported that 50 of them are not armed.
According to Radio Azatutyun, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan noted the day before that the mission will make an important contribution to stability in the region and ensuring the safety of the population living in the border areas with Azerbaijan.
"The Armenian side has publicly expressed its position regarding the EU observer mission," Foreign Ministry spokesman Vaan Unanyan said in response to questions from Radio Azatutyun, without going into details.
There is no geopolitical context in this process, the head of the ruling parliamentary faction "Civil Contract" Hayk Konjoryan said in the Azatutyun TV studio.
"Azerbaijan attacked the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia, which occupied the territories. Basically, the EU observation mission aims to promote stability in the region, as well as to promote the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan. This is a process that stems from our needs," he said.
The issue of placing EU observers in Armenia was constantly discussed with Russian partners at various levels, and Yerevan expressed its approach, Konjoryan assured.