MOSCOW, February 20. /TASS/. Russia sees geopolitical motives behind the European Union’s civilian mission in Armenia geared to squeeze Russia out of the region, which has little to do with the interests of the normalization of the situation in the South Caucasus, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Monday.
"Regrettably, this is not the first time when we see that the European Union is sparing no efforts to win a foothold in our allied Armenia. We see solely political motives, which are a far cry from the interests of the real normalization of relations in the South Caucasus, behind these attempts. It is sparing no effort to squeeze Russia out of the region and weaken its historical role as a key security guarantor. Baku’s openly voiced negative views about this initiative are being ignored," she said, commenting on the deployment of the EU civilian mission to Armenia.
According to Zakharova, the European Unions’ record of settling regional conflicts is quite dubious. "I don’t think Brussels can boast any successes in this area. Suffice it to recall the European Union’s mediatory efforts and its mission in Kosovo," she noted.
She stressed that a key factor of stability and security in the region in the foreseeable perspective is the package of agreements between the Russia, Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders. "The shortest way to improve the situation in the region lies via the comprehensive implementation of these agreements, including the unblocking of transport communication, the delimitation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, establishing ties between people, experts, religious circles, parliamentarians of the two countries, and through peace treaty talks. Russia is ready to continue to promote this," she said.
On Monday, the European Union launched a civilian mission in Armenia, which is tasked to promote settlement of the situation with Azerbaijan. The mission’s two-year mandate envisages patrolling and reporting about the situation to Brussels to raise its awareness of the situation on the ground. According to experts in Brussels, the mission is ultimately geared to enhance the European Union’s influence in the South Caucasus amid its confrontation with Russia.