Maria Zakharova, Head of the Russian Foreign Ministry's press service, criticized Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's statement about the reasons behind the deployment of the EU mission to the border with Azerbaijan, AzVision.az reports.
"If such statements are attempts to justify dragging EU officials to the regions, then it hardly can be considered successful," she said.
Zakharova noted that the Russian peacekeepers provide peace in Karabakh.
"Our military border guards work on the territory of Armenia, including on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border. We have never heard about Baku's concerns about this, and at the same time we are aware of Azerbaijan's critical attitude toward the EU's decision to deploy its observation mission in Armenia," she said.
In January 2023, the EU decided to establish another mission in Armenia, along the border with Azerbaijan.
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.
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 on December 19, 2022.
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